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Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas
Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas | Gertrude Stein
16 posts | 21 read | 29 to read
The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas was written in 1933 by Gertrude Stein in the guise of an autobiography authored by Alice B. Toklas, who was her lover. It is a fascinating insight into the art scene in Paris as the couple were friends with Paul Cezanne, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. They begin the war years in England but return to France, volunteering for the American Fund for the French Wounded, driving around France, helping the wounded and homeless. After the war Gertrude has an argument with T. S. Eliot after he finds one of her writings inappropriate. They become friends with Sherwood Anderson and Ernest Hemingway. It was written to make money and was indeed a commercial success. However, it attracted criticism, especially from those who appeared in the book and didn't like the way they were depicted.
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TheKidUpstairs
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#OnThisDay in 1874, novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector Gertrude Stein was born. Educated at Radcliffe and Johns Hopkins, Stein originally intended to become a doctor but became disillusioned with institutional sexism and departed for Paris. At 27 rue de Fleurus, Stein and partner Alice B. Toklas hosted Saturday Salons, attracting the likes of Hemingway, Picasso, Matisse and more. #HistoryGetsLIT

Cortg Thanks for sharing 🥰 2y
Leftcoastzen Yay! 2y
68 likes2 comments
review
everlocalwest
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Pickpick

Spent a big chunk of the summer working through this one with a reading group. Very glad I had them for contextualizing and discussion. This is a strange work and I still don't really know how I feel about Alice but Gertrude's self-mythologizing here is just beyond.

(Wavered between pick and so-so on this one but Kalman's portraits put it over the top.)

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everlocalwest
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Starting a journey through the tagged book with my old Ulysses reading group lead by @matthieumcintosh our intrepid, Modernist Lit loving leader!

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literateBee

Crucial!

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Simona
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Of course ... perfectly understandable. 🤑

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HannaPolkadots
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Mehso-so

I liked the story of how this book was written, and what is portrayed as a quite simple and earnest relationship between the two women. Some of the anecdotes of artists they meet are also interesting. But, I thought it was a bit too namedroppy - and that some things should be elaborated on more. And even though I know that lack of commas was a choice Stein made for her style, I just really wanna go in there and fix the punctuation!🤓👩‍🏫

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HannaPolkadots
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My #tbrpile for March, which also coincides with #nameinthetitle for #magnificentmarch day 1 🍀

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @OriginalCyn620

rockpools North and South 💕 Have you read Gaskell before? 4y
HannaPolkadots @RachelO North and South is a reread, I just enjoy it so much 😍 4y
OriginalCyn620 Awesome stack! 😊 4y
rockpools @HannaPolkadots Lovely- enjoy it! You‘re making me want to reread as well. 4y
29 likes4 comments
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writerlibrarian
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#iconic times three. Gertrude Stein's amazing book about hers and Alice's lives in Paris in the 1920s. Stein's portrait by Picasso. Image © Met

#MOvember

Leftcoastzen Awesome post! 4y
33 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Leftcoastzen
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Happy Birthday to Alice who was born in San Francisco on this date in 1877 .Alice B. Toklas and Gertrude Stein held the most incredible Salon in Paris.If I could sit in on a session with them , Picasso, Matisse ,Sherwood Anderson, and Hemingway. Can you imagine?Though Stein lived in Oakland and Toklas was in San Francisco, they met in Paris in 1907.

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GidgetsTreasures75
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4-11-19: My 31st finished book of 2019! #alicebtoklas #gertrudestein 📖#️⃣3️⃣1️⃣

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Leftcoastzen
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On this day in 1910, Alice and Gertrude started living together.After visiting with them in 1935, Edmund Wilson wrote in a letter to John Dos Passos,that their relationship was “The most complete example of human symbiosis I have ever seen.” (Note:I got ahead of myself, the date of their cohabitation is September 9th)

LeahBergen Ooo, that cookbook! 6y
Leftcoastzen @LeahBergen I do love it ! Has cute little illustrations and fun stories mixed in with the recipes. 6y
merelybookish You have the best collection of books! 6y
Leftcoastzen @merelybookish Thanks .But If you see a headline “Woman crushed by her unmanageable Book collection “ it‘s probably me. 6y
38 likes4 comments
review
SaraBeagle
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Pickpick

A better title would be Gertrude Stein‘s History of her Paris Salon. Her writing style is circuitous, at times repetitive and full of ego. But the stories of her relationships with up and coming artists of the time are fascinating.
Photo: Portrait of Gertrude Stein by Pablo Picasso, NYC Metropolitan Museum of Art

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writerlibrarian
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Paris before WW1. The lives of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas in Paris at a time when art was everything. #readjanuary #autobiography

Hobbinol Great choice! I'm crazy about this book! ❤❗️ 7y
37 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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Marchpane
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How to be passive aggressive with eggs 🍳

Onioons Some days Litsy is a real education 😊 love it! 7y
Smrloomis 😂 this is fantastic! 7y
Hobbinol 😂 7y
See All 6 Comments
thegirlwiththelibrarybag 😐 well, I'll be! I'll be mighty suspicious if fried eggs are on the menu... 7y
Litlady I need some Gertrude Stein in my life! 😂📚👍 7y
juliannebenford Haha this is great! 7y
100 likes6 stack adds6 comments
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writerlibrarian
Pickpick

Really fell in love with Stein writings with this book. The autobiography of Alice B. Toklas is more accessible and a wonderful journey and view into the lives, loves and entourage of the Stein-Toklas. How Gertrude and Alice set up home in Paris, held court with painters, writers, poets and along the way collected essential pieces of art of the modern era. Picasso, Matisse, Braque... all dined at 27, rue de Fleurus. 💖👍

12 likes1 stack add
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Hobbinol
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My favorite memoir is Gertrude Stein's, writing in the voice of her gal pal, Alice B. Toklas. Very clever. #memorablememoirs #booktober

writerlibrarian A really good novel, read it twice. A wonderful portrait of Paris at the turn of the 20th century. 7y
ValerieAndBooks Great choice! I love all the talk about the artists they knew at the time (Picasso, et al). 7y
39 likes1 stack add2 comments