Paris France

Gertrude Stein lived in Paris from 1903 until her in 1946. She and her brother Leo were known as patrons of the arts, championing the works of Picasso, Cézanne and Matisse. After establishing an art collection that was destined to become internationally famous, she embarked on her writing career. Published on the day Paris fell to the Germans in 1940, Paris France blends Stein’s childhood memories of Paris with trenchant observations and anecdotes of all things French. It is a witty fricassée of food and fashion, pets and painters, musicians, friends, and artists, served up with a healthy garnish of Steinian humor and self-indulgence. For readers who have previously considered Gertrude Stein to be a difficult author, Paris France provides a delightful window on her personal and unique world. Part of the new look Peter Owen Modern Classics range featuring a logo crafted by graphic design icon Alvin Lustig.

Gertrude Stein (1874–1946) was born in Pittsburgh of a prosperous German-Jewish family. She was educated in France and the USA, worked under the pioneering psychologist William James and later studied medicine. Growing bored, she moved to Paris from 1903 with her brother Leo, where she lived for 40 years. They became important patrons of the arts, acquiring pictures by Cézanne, Renoir, Gauguin, Manet, Toulouse-Lautrec, and contemporary artists such as Picasso and Braque. She also began to write: the novel QED was followed by books including Three Lives and The Making of Americans. Lisa Nesselsen is a Paris-based film critic for Variety and France24. A contributor to the BBC World Service and a former Radio France International anchor, her book-length translations from French to English include biographies of Simone de Beauvoir and Cinémathèque Française founder Henri Langlois.