Paris Was a Woman: Portraits from the Left Bank - Paperback

Paris Was a Woman: Portraits from the Left Bank

This Lambda Literary Award-winning book offers an intimate look at the remarkable community of female writers and artists who shaped Modernist literature in Paris during the early 20th century. Originally published over twenty years ago, this updated edition features a new preface and additional illustrations that bring these pioneering women's stories to life.

A Portrait of Female Modernists in Paris

Andrea Weiss presents a carefully researched profile of the lesbian and bisexual writers who found their voices in Paris between the wars. The book profiles influential figures including Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, Sylvia Beach, Djuna Barnes, and Colette, documenting their political, social, and artistic contributions to the Modernist movement.

Richly Illustrated Cultural History

The book functions as a visual scrapbook, combining photographs, paintings, drawings, and literary fragments with Weiss' revealing commentary. These illustrations provide direct insight into the daily lives, creative processes, and relationships of these extraordinary women who made the Left Bank their home and creative headquarters.

Award-Winning Research and Documentation

Painstakingly researched and profusely illustrated, this book documents how these women found both themselves and their artistic voices in Paris. The text reveals an extensive network of female artists and writers for whom Paris represented neither mistress nor muse, but something entirely different—a space of creative freedom and self-determination.

About Author Andrea Weiss

Andrea Weiss is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and nonfiction author. Her book In The Shadow Of The Magic Mountain: The Erika And Klaus Mann Story won the Publishing Triangle Award for nonfiction. She has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, and New York Foundation for the Arts. Her documentary Before Stonewall earned an Emmy Award. She teaches at The City College of New York and lives in New York City.

Essential Reading for Students of Literary History

This book serves as an essential resource for anyone interested in women's literary history, LGBTQ+ cultural contributions, Modernist literature, or the artistic community of 1920s Paris. The combination of visual materials and scholarly text creates an accessible yet authoritative account of this pivotal moment in literary and cultural history.