Title: Wild Heart
Subtitle: A Life
First published: 2002
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.A dazzling literary biography, Wild Heart: A Life is a story of a woman who has been an icon to many. Set against the backdrop of two different societies-Victorian America and Belle Epoque Europe- Wild Heart: A Life beautifully captures the richness of their lore.
Subjects: American Authors, Americans, Authors, American, Authors, French, Biography, Biography & Autobiography, French Authors, History, Homes and haunts, Intellectual life, Lesbians, Nonfiction, Americans, france, Paris (france), intellectual life, French Women authors, Women authors, French, American Women authors, Women authors, American, Biografie, New York Times reviewed, LGBTQ biography and memoir, collection:judy_grahn_award=finalist
Places: France, Paris, Paris (France)
People: Natalie Clifford Barney
Time periods: 20th century