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Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife
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About This Book
From the celebrated author of Square Haunting comes a biography as unconventional and surprising as the life it tells. 'Think of the Bible and Homer, think of Shakespeare and think of me,' wrote Gertrude Stein in 1936. Admirers called her a genius, sceptics a she remains one of the most confounding - and contested - writers of the twentieth century. In this literary detective story, Francesca Wade delves into the creation of the Stein myth. We see her posing for Picasso's portrait; at the centre of Bohemian Parisian life hosting the likes of Matisse and Hemingway; racing through the French countryside with her enigmatic companion Alice B. Toklas; dazzling American crowds on her sell-out tour for her sensational Autobiography - a veritable celebrity. Yet Stein hoped to be remembered not for her personality but for her work. From her deathbed, she charged her partner with securing her place in literary history. How would her legend shift once it was Toklas's turn to tell the stories - especially when uncomfortable aspects of their past emerged from the archive? Using astonishing never-before-seen material, Wade uncovers the origins of Stein's radical writing, and reveals new depths to the storied relationship which made it possible. This is Gertrude Stein as she was when nobody was captivating, complex and human.
Reviews
"Anyone intrigued by the legend of Stein and Toklas will find this a windfall."
"The full story of their love affair can only now be told, uncensored, in an afterlife that Wade captures so vividly here."
"A probing examination of an enigmatic writer."
"When Wade is confronted by writing she doesn't understand, curiosity rather than resentment wins the day ..."
"Wade's superb new book...is the biography of both a woman and a reputation."
"Wade does a lot of pointillist deep diving ..."
"Thoughtful and deeply researched ..."
"If the first part reads as a Stein-sanctioned biography, then the second is the more salacious, unauthorized biography that incorporates a broader set of sources to tell Stein's tale ..."
"Exhaustively researched and beautifully written...a masterpiece of biography."
"The first half, a vivid but condensed account of her life, doesn't break much new ground ..."
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