Product Description

Natalie and Romaine met in London during World War I and their partnership lasted until Natalie died 52 years later. They were both American expatriates; unconventional, energetic, flamboyant and rich. Natalie was known as 'the wild girl of Cincinnatti' and had numerous affairs with other women: Renee Vivien who nailed shut the windows of her apartment, wrote about the loveliness of death, drank eau de cologne and died of anorexia aged 30; and Dolly Wilde niece of Oscar, who ran up terrible phone bills and died of a drugs overdose. Her Friday afternoon salons in the cobbled garden of her Parisian house were for 'introductions and culture' and were frequented by Gertrude Stein, Colette, Radclyffe Hall and Edith Sitwell. Romaine achieved fame in her own lifetime and after as an artist. She painted her lovers including Gabriele d'Annunzio with whom she had a terrible and tortured relationship, and the ballerina Ida Rubinstein. However her relationship with Natalie was constant and in their eventful years together they threw up a liberating spirit of culture, style and candour.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #68872 in Books
• Published on: 2005-07-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

THE INDEPENDENT
"An entertaining account of the couple's 50-year relationship - one that was never tested by the rigours of co-habitation."

Review
"An entertaining account of the couple's 50-year relationship - one that was never tested by the rigours of co-habitation." (THE INDEPENDENT )

"The book really takes off, when we come to Natalie's long affair with the portraitist Romaine Brooks... Diana Souhami is almost incapable of writing a clumsy sentence." (SUNDAY TELEGRAPH )

"For 50 years... the love of these two women lasted. Now, thanks to Souhami, it lives again." (THE TIMES )

"Souhami handles it with a light touch. " (SUNDAY TIMES )

"Souhami tells their story in lush... prose, which perfectly suits the subjects and their exotic world." (IMAGE MAGAZINE )

"Two wealthy lesbians in 1900s Paris lead the jolly, over the top life you expect from the belle epoque." (EVENING HERALD )

SUNDAY TIMES
"Souhami handles it with a light touch. "

Customer Reviews

Bittersweet sensuality
A fascinating read. I'd never heard of Natalie Barney or Romaine Brooks before I picked up the book due to its very scrumptious and sensual cover, and true to its word, I was not disappointed. I got a very revealing look into Bohehmiam Paris and what the world was like for two rich women who decided to live life on their own terms, instead of according to family pressures or traditions. I had alot of respect for the women and the force of passion, poetry and excitement they unleased in life. The book is so beautifully written one almost feels captivated into that era oneself.

A brilliant book!
A very interesting book. Souhami's writing style is easy to read and magically evokes the victorian era, and the 1920s. Although it felt as though the book was all based upon secondary sources and not very in-depth Souhami does put all the information beautifully, and the pictures illustrate the book nicely. Natalie was an extroadinary woman, who was way ahead of her time and deserves to be remembered.

The book is equally based upon Natalie and Romaine, and gives a good insight into what their 50 year relationship was really like. I loved the sense of Natalie's vivaciousness and joie de vivre. Romaine on the other hand seemed quite bitter and cruel.

Well worth the money!