SHORTLISTED FOR THE AMERICAN LIBRARY IN PARIS BOOK AWARD 2025<\/b><\/p>\n
‘Strikingly accomplished . . . utterly compelling.’ SUNDAY TIMES
<\/i><\/b>‘A masterpiece of biography.’ DAILY <\/i><\/b>TELEGRAPH<\/b>
<\/i>‘A total joy to read.’ SARAH BAKEWELL<\/b>
‘I feel like I’ve been waiting for this book my whole life.’ SHEILA HETI<\/b><\/p>\n
A BOOK OF THE YEAR IN:<\/b>
THE GUARDIAN<\/i><\/b>
THE SPECTATOR<\/i><\/b>
THE TELEGRAPH<\/i><\/b>
THE INDEPENDENT<\/i><\/b>
ARTFORUM<\/i><\/b>
WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD<\/i><\/b>
NPR’S FRESH AIR<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
From the celebrated author of <\/b>Square Haunting <\/i>comes a biography as unconventional and surprising as the life it tells.<\/b><\/p>\n
‘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 charlatan: she remains one of the most confounding – and contested – writers of the twentieth century.<\/p>\n
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<\/i> – a veritable celebrity. <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
This is Gertrude Stein as she was when nobody was watching: captivating, complex and human.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A biography as unconventional and surprising as the life it tells. Admirers called her a genius, sceptics a charlatan. Gertrude Stein remains one of the most confounding – and contested – writers of the 20th century. The host of glamorous salons at 27 rue de Fleurus, brushing shoulders with Picasso and Hemingway in her long brown robe, Stein never ceased plotting her own legacy. She would be known as the literary innovator of her time. And her enigmatic partner, Alice B. Toklas, would make sure of it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[641],"product_tag":[28381,517,852,349],"class_list":["post-113616","product","type-product","status-publish","product_cat-biography","product_tag-biography-literature-literary-studies","product_tag-biography-arts-entertainment","product_tag-biography-literary","product_tag-social-cultural-history","pa_book_author-wade-francesca","pa_cover-paperback","pa_dewey-818-5209-edition23","pa_imprint-faber-faber","pa_language-english","pa_pages-9480","pa_publisher-faber-faber","pa_readership-general-trade-code-k","first","instock","taxable","shipping-taxable","purchasable","product-type-simple"],"yoast_head":"\n