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One of Gertrude
Stein's most important and controversial works, The Autobiography
of Alice B. Toklas was written in 1933, and first appeared in The
Atlantic Monthly, before being published in book form. Despite
the title, it is actually Gertrude Stein's autobiography, as told through
the voice of her lover, Alice
B. Toklas. Using Alice as narrator, Gertrude engages in biography,
history, observation, gossip, and self-aggrandisement, all tempered with
ironic humor. It was in this work that Gertrude Stein first described
herself to the world as a genius. It was also this work that first
brought attention to Alice B. Toklas and revealed her role as Gertrude's
nurse, cook, maid, secretary, and confidant, with subtle hints that she
was also her lover. This latter point was confirmed by the publication
of the women's love poems and letters decades later.
Autbiography's other significance
lies in its insightful portrayals of the many legendary figures who visited
the two women, including Ernest
Hemingway, Sherwood Anderson, Pablo
Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Georges Braque, though it is sometimes
hard to determine what is gossip or humor and what is fact. The book
also gives an excellent picture of Paris during and after the First World
War, including an account of Gertrude's and Alice's involvement with the
American Fund for the French Wounded and their visits to French hospitals,
for which they were decorated.
Several of the artists and writers
portrayed in the book apparently did not share Gertrude Stein's sense of
humor. In 1935 they collaborated on their own counter-attack, titled Testimony
Against Gertrude Stein.
Links:
GERTRUDE
STEIN'S THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ALICE B. TOKLAS
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