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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
"Wade's measured sympathy for Toklas redeems her from pathos by treating her not as a casualty but as a stoic."
"Without Toklas, Stein would not have been whole either."
"The superiority of Wade's approach can be measured by the insights into Stein's work that she gleans from it ..."
"Explores Stein's biography not for explanations, but in order to better enjoy the pleasure of her sentences as a kind of physical delight."
"Wade introduces us to a fascinating cast of characters ..."
"A probing examination of an enigmatic writer."
"Wade has a sense for character and an eye for detail, and in the first part of Gertrude Stein, she paints a vivid portrait of her striving, grasping subject ..."
"Stein—whose work was a mystery to so many and yet encoded facts about her personal life that would have been unspeakable during her lifetime—turns out to be the perfect case study for such an investigation ..."
"Buoyant if somewhat boosterish ..."
"Anyone intrigued by the legend of Stein and Toklas will find this a windfall."
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