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Gertrude Stein lived in Paris from 1903.
With her brother Leo she acted as patron for a number of soon-to-be
famous artists, most notably Pablo Picasso.
Published in 1940, on the day that Paris fell to the Germans,
Paris France blends Stein’s childhood memories
of Paris with trenchant observations about everything French.
It is a witty fricassée of food and fashion, pets and
painters, musicians, friends and artists, served up with a
healthy garnish of Steinien humour and self-indulgence.
For readers who have previously considered Gertrude Stein
to be a difficult or even unreadable author, Paris France
provides a delightful window on her personal and unique world.
‘Witty and delicious.’ — Sunday Times
‘Fresh and sagacious.’ — New Yorker
‘Less a love affair than an enduring marriage with a
people and a country.’ — Guardian
‘Read her aloud and drawl a bit, and it’s like opening
a secret cabinet.’ — Miranda Seymour, Independent
‘Full of witty truisms about the French of that period.’
— Harpers & Queen
‘Limitless charm and idiosyncratic entertainment.’
— Attitude
GERTRUDE STEIN (1874–1946) was born in Pittsburgh
of a prosperous German-Jewish family. She was educated in
France and the USA, worked under the pioneering psychologist
William James and later studied medicine. Growing bored, she
moved to Paris from 1903 with her brother Leo, where she lived
for forty years. They became important patrons of the arts,
acquiring pictures by Cézanne, Renoir, Gauguin, Manet,
Toulouse-Lautrec and contemporary artists such as Picasso
and Braque. She also began to write: the novel QED
was followed by other books including Three Lives and
The Making of Americans. In 1909 Alice B. Toklas joined
the Stein ménage and remained Gertrude’s close
friend until her death, and their home became a popular meeting
place for writers and painters. Gertrude Stein’s last
words were: ‘What is the answer?’ Receiving no reply
she laughed and said: ‘Then what is the question?’ |
