Description
Book SynopsisNatalie Barney,'the wild girl of Cincinnati', and Romaine Brooks were both rich, American and grandly lesbian. They met in Paris in 1915 and their tempestuous affair lasted more than fifty years. By the end of their lives together, Natalie and Romaine had entertained, slept with, fallen in love with, tutored or tortured a range of figures including Gertrude Stein, Colette, Edith Sitwell, Gabriele d'Annunzio and the ballerina Ida Rubinstein. But among this tumult there was an enduring and loving relationship that supported a liberating spirit of culture, style and candour. In this vivid double biography, Souhami writes with complexity and skill, drawing the reader into a different world and capturing for ever her subjects' extraordinary lives.
Trade Review'A wonderful evocation of an era and of a relationship frightening in both its intensity and its bleakness' Guardian. * Guardian *
'Pages are crammed with descriptions of exotic characters, their extravagances and eccentricities, the lilies, the pearls, the velvet-lined rooms...' Selina Hastings, Sunday Telegraph. * Sunday Telegraph *
'Souhami is an exceptionally witty and original biographer' Sunday Times. * Sunday Times *
Table of ContentsA Personal Note. BEFORE ROMAINE: Liane de Pougy. More Liane de Pougy. Discursion 1. 'Sonnets de Femmes'. Discursion 2. The Princess Ghika. Lady Alice. Discursion 3. Renee Vivien. More Renee Vivien. Discursion 4. Renee Vivien's death. Discursion 5. Discursion 6. Rue Jacob. Discursion 7. Remy de Gourmont. Discursion 8. Lily de Gramont. Discursion 9. BEFORE NATALIE: Ella Waterman Goddard. Discursion 10. St Mar. Discursion 11. The Artist. Discursion 12. The Doctors. Discursion 13. Rome and Capri. Discursion 14. More Ella Waterman Goddard. John Ellingham Brooks. Discursion 15. Paris. Gabriele D'Annunzio. Discursion 16. Ida Rubenstein. NATALIE AND ROMAINE: Natalie and Romaine. Discursion 17. The Monocled Lady. Discursion 18. Dolly Wilde. Discursion 19. More Dolly Wilde. Discursion 20. Ladies Almanack. Discursion 21. A War Interlude. Discursion 22. Tenuous Freedoms. Discursion 23. Madame Lahovery. Discursion 24. The Last Lap. Discursion 25. Sources and Books. Illustrations. Acknowledgements. Index.
