Most Popular Books by Gertrude Stein

“Alice B. Toklas wrote hers and now everybody will write theirs.” In 1933 Gertrude Stein’s The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas skyrocketed to the top of the bestseller lists, and the author found herself a celebrity. Everybody’s Autobiography is the very Steinian account of her soul-satisfying next five years in France, England, and America, where she made a triumphant tour of the country. Here are Stein’s devastating analyses of some of the major figures of the day whom she met—among them Dashiell Hammett, Charlie Chaplin, Pablo Picasso, Marianne Moore, Mrs. Roosevelt, and Sherwood Anderson—and also of her own life and work.

"This collection, a retrospective exhibit of the work of a woman who created a unique place for herself in the world of letters, contains a sample of practically every period and every manner in Gertrude Stein''s career. It includes The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas in its entirety; selected passages from The Making of Americans; "Melanctha"from Three Lives; portraits of the painters Cezanne, Matisse, and Picasso; Tender Buttons; the opera Four Saints in Three Acts; and poem, plays, lectures, articles, sketches, and a generous portion of her famous book on the Occupation of France, Wars I Have Seen.

Gertrude Stein, as a college student at Radcliffe and a medical student at Johns Hopkins Medical School, was a privileged woman, but she was surrounded by women who were trapped by poverty, class, and race into lives that offered little choice. Her portraits of Anna and Lena are examples of realistic depictions of immigrant women who had no occupational choice but to become domestic workers. This collection of documents from the history of women''s suffrage, medical history, modernist art, and literature enables readers to see how radical Stein''s subject was.

First published in 1931, this volume offers Gertrude Stein''s reflections on the art and craft of writing. Although written in her distinctive experimental style, the book is remarkably accessible and easy to read. The modernist author''s characteristic humor is borne out by some of the chapter titles, "Saving the Sentence," "Arthur a Grammar," "Regular Regularly in Narrative," and "Finally George a Vocabulary." Stein''s experimental style features elements such as disconnectedness, a love of refrain and rhyme, a search for rhythm and balance, a dislike of punctuation (especially the comma), and a repetition of words and phrases. Those who are unfamiliar with her Stein''s work or have found it difficult to understand will discover in How to Write an excellent entrée to a unique literary voice and an imaginative approach to language that continues to inspire writers and readers.

Matched only by Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast, Paris France is a "fresh and sagacious" (The New Yorker) classic of prewar France and its unforgettable literary eminences. Celebrated for her innovative literary bravura, Gertrude Stein (1874–1946) settled into a bustling Paris at the turn of the twentieth century, never again to return to her native America. While in Paris, she not only surrounded herself with—and tirelessly championed the careers of—a remarkable group of young expatriate artists but also solidified herself as "one of the most controversial figures of American letters" (New York Times). In Paris France (1940)—published here with a new introduction from Adam Gopnik—Stein unites her childhood memories of Paris with her observations about everything from art and war to love and cooking. The result is an unforgettable glimpse into a bygone era, one on the brink of revolutionary change.

"Essential for all literature collections . . . Several of Stein''s titles returned to print in 1995, but none more important than The Making of Americans." Library Journal

First published in 1914, Gertrude Stein''s revolutionary poetic work Tender Buttons is a must-read for every serious lover of literature. Delighting in the rhythm of words, its first section, "Objects," runs playful linguistic circles around teacups, ribbons, umbrellas, and other quotidian artifacts. Presented here in an exquisite small package, this new edition of "Objects" pairs Stein''s avant-garde verse with colorful contemporary illustrations by indie art star Lisa Congdon, who illuminates and interrogates the classic Cubist text with visuals as capricious as Stein''s own prose. A celebration of independent thinking old and new, this captivating marriage of image and text is a treasure of arts and letters.

The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas is a unique and witty exploration of the Parisian avant-garde scene in the early 20th century. Written by Gertrude Stein from the perspective of her lifelong partner, Alice B. Toklas, the book offers an intimate yet playful account of their life together and their interactions with some of the most influential artists and writers of the time. Through a blend of memoir and literary experiment, Stein captures the essence of a creative era, chronicling encounters with figures like Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Ernest Hemingway. Since its publication, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas has been regarded as a landmark of modernist literature. Its innovative narrative voice and unconventional approach to autobiography challenge traditional storytelling while providing a vivid portrait of artistic life in Paris. The book remains a fascinating document of the cultural ferment of the 20th century, offering insights into the relationships and ideas that shaped a generation of creators. The work''s lasting significance lies in its ability to blur the boundaries between fiction and autobiography while celebrating the interplay of art, literature, and personal identity. By presenting her own life through Toklas''s voice, Stein crafts a self-portrait that is both engaging and enigmatic, inviting readers to reconsider the nature of authorship, memory, and artistic legacy.

The unforgettable stories of three women, told with poignancy and compassion by one of the most important writers of our century 3 Lives consists of three character studies of women; "The Good Anna"–a kind but domineering German servingwoman; "Melanctha"–an uneducated but sensitive black girl; "The Gentle Lena"–a young German maid.

Stein''s most famous work; one of the richest and most irreverent biographies ever written. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

This monumental collection of correspondence between Gertrude Stein and critic, novelist, and photographer Carl Van Vechten provides crucial insight into Stein''s life, art, and artistic milieu as well as Van Vechten''s support of major cultural projects, such as the Harlem Renaissance. From their first meeting in 1913, Stein and Van Vechten formed a unique and powerful relationship, and Van Vechten worked vigorously to publish and promote Stein''s work. Existing biographies of Stein—including her own autobiographical writings—omit a great deal about her experiences and thought. They lack the ordinary detail of what Stein called "daily everyday living": the immediate concerns, objects, people, and places that were the grist for her writing. These letters not only vividly represent those details but also showcase Stein and Van Vechten''s private selves as writers. Edward Burns''s extensive annotations include detailed cross-referencing of source materials.

Three early experimental pieces involving such stylistic devices as repeated variations on a limited set of sentences and phrases, and "word portraits." Also includes "A Long Gay Book" and "Many, Many Women."

Letters trace the friendship between Stein and Wilder from late 1934 until Stein''s death in 1946

A fascinating insight into the vibrant culture of Modernism, and the rich artistic world of Paris''s Left Bank, Gertrude Stein''s The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas includes an introduction by Thomas Fensch in Penguin Modern Classics. For Gertrude Stein and her wife Alice B. Toklas, life in Paris was based upon the rue de Fleurus and the Saturday evenings and ''it was like a kaleidoscope slowly turning''. Picasso was there with ''his high whinnying Spanish giggle'', as were Cezanne and Matisse, Hemingway and Fitzgerald. As Toklas put it - ''The geniuses came and talked to Gertrude Stein and the wives sat with me''. A light-hearted entertainment, this is in fact Gertrude Stein''s own autobiography and a roll-call of all the extraordinary painters and writers she met between 1903 and 1932. Audacious, sardonic and characteristically self-confident, this is a definitive account by American in Paris. Gertrude Stein (1874-1946), a writer of experimental prose, is one of the original American Modernists. Born in Pennsylvania, she lived most of her life in Paris with her partner, Alice B. Toklas. Experimental books like Three Lives (1909), Tender Buttons (1914), and The Making of Americans (1925) established her reputation as an avant-garde stylist, and The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas made her an international celebrity. As an experimental writer she has been an inspiration to countless novelists and poets in our century, from Ernest Hemingway and Edith Sitwell in her own time to Jack Kerouac and Robert Duncan in ours. If you enjoyed The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, you might like Virginia Woolf''s Orlando, also available in Penguin Modern Classics. ''Buttonholes the reader with its informality, its unhurried rhythms, deadpan humour and acerbic remarks'' Frances Spalding, Sunday Times

Tender Buttons is a 1914 book by American writer Gertrude Stein consisting of three sections titled "Objects", "Food", and "Rooms". While the short book consists of multiple poems covering the everyday mundane, Stein''s experimental use of language renders the poems unorthodox and their subjects unfamiliar.Stein began composition of the book in 1912 with multiple short prose poems in an effort to "create a word relationship between the word and the things seen" using a "realist" perspective. She then published it in three sections as her second book in 1914.

Tender Buttons is the best known of Gertrude Stein''s "hermetic" works. It consists of three sections titled "Objects", "Food", and "Rooms", which are further consisting of multiple poems covering the everyday mundane. Stein''s experimental use of language renders the poems unorthodox and their subjects unfamiliar. Its first poem, "A Carafe, That Is a Blind Glass", is arguably the most famous, and is often cited as one of the quintessential works of Cubist literature. Rather than using conventional syntax, Stein experiments with alternative grammar to emphasize the role of rhythm and sound in an object''s "moment of consciousness". Gertrude Stein (1874-1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright and art collector, best known for Three Lives, The Making of Americans and Tender Buttons. Stein moved to Paris in 1903, and made France her home for the remainder of her life. Picasso and Cubism were an important influence on Stein''s writing. Her works are compared to James Joyce''s Ulysses and to Marcel Proust''s In Search of Lost Time.

Tender Buttons consists of three sections titled "Objects", "Food", and "Rooms". While the short book consists of poems covering the mundane, Stein''s experimental use of language renders the poems unorthodox and their subjects unfamiliar.

Examines selected operas and plays from Gertrude Stein.

A 1909 work of fiction by American writer Gertrude Stein, split into three independent stories, all set in the fictional American town of Bridgepoint.

Portraits and Prayers is a collection of early essays and word portraits by the American writer Gertrude Stein. Her subjects often provide a description of what she observed in her Saturday salons.

Tender Buttons is a 1914 book by American writer Gertrude Stein consisting of three sections titled "Objects", "Food", and "Rooms". While the short book consists of multiple poems covering the everyday mundane, Stein''s experimental use of language renders the poems unorthodox and their subjects unfamiliar.Stein began composition of the book in 1912 with multiple short prose poems in an effort to "create a word relationship between the word and the things seen" using a "realist" perspective. She then published it in three sections as her second book in 1914.[1]Tender Buttons has provoked divided critical responses since its publication. It is renowned for its Modernist approach to portraying the everyday object and has been lauded as a "masterpiece of verbal Cubism".[2] Its first poem, "A Carafe, That Is a Blind Glass", is arguably its most famous, and is often cited as one of the quintessential works of Cubist literature. The book has also been, however, criticized as "a modernist triumph, a spectacular failure, a collection of confusing gibberish, and an intentional hoax".[2]

In Three Lives are the stories of three working-class woman from Bridgepointu2060--a town loosely based on Baltimoreu2060--in the early twentieth century. Each story tells of the hopes, loves, romances and sadnesses of the women as they live their lives.Written in a unconventional style, the lives of the three women are uncovered through their layered conversations and interactions more than through detailed depictions. The book is notable for its descriptions of homosexual romance, something that at the time in the USA wasn''t accepted (indeed, Gertrude Stein moved with her partner to Paris to be able to live openly).Three Lives was Gertrude Stein''s first published book, and although the sales weren''t as expected it was generally well received by critics. It''s considered today to be among her more accessible books, and is a regular on English literature curricula.