Book Description

Born in 1876, Natalie Barney-beautiful, charismatic, brilliant and wealthy-was expected to marry well and lead the conventional life of a privileged society woman. But Natalie had no interest in marriage and made no secret of the fact that she was attracted to women. Brought up by a talented and rebellious mother-the painter Alice Barney-Natalie cultivated an interest in poetry and the arts. When she moved to Paris in the early 1900s, she plunged into the city's literary scene, opening a famed Left Bank literary salon and engaging in a string of scandalous affairs with courtesan Liane de Pougy, poet Renee Vivien, and painter Romaine Brooks, among others. For the rest of her long and controversial life Natalie Barney was revered by writers for her generous, eccentric spirit and reviled by high society for her sexual appetite. In the end, she served as an inspiration and came to know many of the greatest names of 20th century arts and letters-including Proust, Colette, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Isadora Duncan, Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and Truman Capote.

Customer Reviews (2)

In Memoriam ofL'Amazone, Natalie Clifford Barney
Natalie Clifford Barney was wild at heart. She loved life and women rather than men. We'll never know why she preferred being a lesbian but she created one of the most memorable and historic scenes in her Paris salons. While Stein was more cerebral, Barney was more fun and light at heart. She was still complicated with a love life that includes Romaine Brooks and Rene Vivian. Anyway this book is quite a departure for me, I read crime books so I'm looking forward to reading this book in depth. I have only just got it and I'm impressed with it's high quality. Of course since I'm still reading it, I still find Natalie's life both in turmoil and complicated by having too many intimate relationships with women. She was definitely one of a kind lady of her time. She has intimate relationships with women because that's her nature as she believes and that's fine. But Natalie is too much for one partner, I haven't even gotten to Romaine Brooks, the love of her life. Of course, Natalie suffers heartache and loss much more than most people are willing to imagine. Men even admired and desired her despite her obvious taste. She was surely cerebral. She never apologized for her nature and she was neither displaying it like it is today. Natalie was classy with her style. She was feminine without any pretense of wanting to dress like a man or be one. She was definitely a woman who loved other women long before it became fashionable and sometimes a joke. I don't what she would think of female celebrities today etc. I know she would probably be either critical or praise them but I don't know. Natalie was a tough person with higher credentials than most people. She wasn't about to welcome just anybody whether they were gay or straight into her salons. They had to be cerebral and an artist and somebody who could change the world for the better. After finishing this wonderful biography, Natalie lived a fascinating life that nobody with any creativity could have written. Of course, it wasn't always happy. Her one true love, Romaine Brooks, distanced herself from Natalie at the end of their lives. Natalie went to the grave with a picture of Romaine. She shares her grave with her sister Laura. Despite all her lovers, Natalie had many of them but all female, it was Romaine that she wanted most of all. Of course, she had Lily Graumont and others but Natalie lived a life that many of us regardless of our sexual orientation could not have imagined. I would love to see Vanessa Redgrave play the older Natalie and one of her daughters, Joely or Natasha Richardson played younger Natalie in a film adaptation. Her sister Lynn could play older Laura. I don't know who could play Romaine, Lily, Eva, or any of her friends and lovers as well. But for the price on amazon.com, this book is one to keep and if anybody ask questions about why you should read this book. Tell them it's about one of the most fascinating literary lionesses of the last century and they'll be interested in it too if they love to read.

Wild HeartReview
This was a good summer read, it held my interest and flowed easily.On occasion, the use of language was a bit difficult but, on the whole I would suggest it to someone. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

It could have been better!
I have to say it was worth buying for the price but I was disappointed with the book overall. There were no photographs of Natalie Clifford Barney or that life in Paris, France as an expatriate. Miss Barney had a led a more colorful life than the subject of the book itself. There are lots of writing in it but it lacks depth and emotion to me. I have to say I was disappointed because Natalie was such a colorful person who loved life in general. Her writings don't live up to it's expectation but is worth the purchase. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document, covering the life and work of Natalie (Clifford) Barney, is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thompson Gale. The length of the entry is 3372 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary, typical entries include the following information:

• Place and date of birth and death (if deceased)
• Family members
• Education
• Professional associations and honors
• Employment
• Writings, including books and periodicals
• A description of the author's work
• References to further readings about the author

Book Description
fiction ... Read more