No Modernism Without Lesbians
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- Create Date：2021-06-03 09:51:20
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Diana Souhami
- ISBN：1786694875
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Summary
This is the extraordinary story of how a singular group of women in a pivotal time and place – Paris， between the wars – fostered the birth of the Modernist movement。
Sylvia Beach， Bryher， Natalie Barney， and Gertrude Stein。 A trailblazing publisher; a patron of artists; a society hostess; a groundbreaking writer。
They were all women who loved women。 They rejected the patriarchy and made lives of their own – forming a community around them in Paris。
Each of these four central women interacted with a myriad of others， some of the most influential， most entertaining， most shocking and most brilliant figures of the age。 Diana Souhami weaves together their stories to create a vivid moving tapestry of life among the Modernists in pre-war Paris。
Sylvia Beach， Bryher， Natalie Barney， and Gertrude Stein。 A trailblazing publisher; a patron of artists; a society hostess; a groundbreaking writer。
They were all women who loved women。 They rejected the patriarchy and made lives of their own – forming a community around them in Paris。
Each of these four central women interacted with a myriad of others， some of the most influential， most entertaining， most shocking and most brilliant figures of the age。 Diana Souhami weaves together their stories to create a vivid moving tapestry of life among the Modernists in pre-war Paris。
Reviews
Sharon Saxton
，
She seems to be reworking the same women from the same period of time as her other books。 Although some of the information is new， I did feel I could speed read through it because so much is not new。
Alice Paddison
，
This is a very fascinating book about 4 lesbians lives revolving around modernism in the early 1900's Paris。 The reason I gave it 3 stars was due to the writers tendency to include irrelevant information that would go off into tangents。 While the writer was trying to capture as much of Paris's literary circle as possible I didn't think there was much point in including every name under the sun and go off into random back stories that surved no purpose to the main story。 This is a very fascinating book about 4 lesbians lives revolving around modernism in the early 1900's Paris。 The reason I gave it 3 stars was due to the writers tendency to include irrelevant information that would go off into tangents。 While the writer was trying to capture as much of Paris's literary circle as possible I didn't think there was much point in including every name under the sun and go off into random back stories that surved no purpose to the main story。 。。。more
Sophy H
，
An excellent book on the women who defied convention and told the patriarchy to go and put it in their Victorian pipe and smoke it！！ Stories of courage， bravery and daring are the order of the day in this study of four critical lesbian pillars of the community in turn of the 20th century Paris。 Diana Souhami does a fantastic job of researching each woman's background and upbringing， relationships with others， and their contribution to the burgeoning lesbian community in Paris in the early 1900's An excellent book on the women who defied convention and told the patriarchy to go and put it in their Victorian pipe and smoke it！！ Stories of courage， bravery and daring are the order of the day in this study of four critical lesbian pillars of the community in turn of the 20th century Paris。 Diana Souhami does a fantastic job of researching each woman's background and upbringing， relationships with others， and their contribution to the burgeoning lesbian community in Paris in the early 1900's。 There is much sacrifice here， both financially， professionally and emotionally。 Brilliant storytelling。 。。。more
Amelia
，
Diana Souhami is the queen of the lesbian biography， having written books about Radclyffe Hall， Violet Trefusis， and Romaine Brooks amongst many more。 In No Modernism Without Lesbians she's brought together her decades of research into a group biography of the early 20th Century queer milieu around Paris who pushed the modernist movement forward through their art and patronage。It focuses on Shakespeare & Co founder and Ulysses publisher Sylvia Beach， billionaire writer and patron Bryher， society Diana Souhami is the queen of the lesbian biography， having written books about Radclyffe Hall， Violet Trefusis， and Romaine Brooks amongst many more。 In No Modernism Without Lesbians she's brought together her decades of research into a group biography of the early 20th Century queer milieu around Paris who pushed the modernist movement forward through their art and patronage。It focuses on Shakespeare & Co founder and Ulysses publisher Sylvia Beach， billionaire writer and patron Bryher， society hostess Natalie Barney， and writer and art collector Gertrude Stein， but then spins out an enormous web of queers connected to each of them， all modernist poets， publishers， and artists dedicated to creating a new world。The book is a hugely ambitious endeavour which mostly works。 The modernist theme occasionally gets sidetracked into a list of who slept with who， I thought Bryher's gender was lazily mishandled， and some wartime misdeeds seemed rather glossed over， but as a whole it's a compelling read。You get the feeling that you wouldn't want to spend much time with any of these people （looking at you Gertrude Stein！）， but their lives were certainly fascinating。 There's also a sense that the class， race and wealth of the subjects was what allowed them such sexual and creative freedom， and to leave so much archival evidence of their lives。 So while there are great stories here it had me wondering who didn't get remembered， and thinking about Shola von Reinhold's Lote and the modernist lesbians of colour missing from the archive。 。。。more
El
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Opened my eyes to how the lives of remarkable individuals miraculously intertwined。 Introduced me to many more authors that I cannot wait to read。
Sam Bolton
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Engaging read， but lacks the biographical scrutiny of Souhami's other books， in that ambiguities aren't explored or even mentioned， and instead Souhami makes decisions on what she thinks is most likely and presents them as the truth。 Other than that very funky fresh！！！！ Though， her refusal to engage with Bryher's gender was extremely frustrating， seeing as it was a big struggle in her life， and there are definitely some terfy undertones which are very yikes。 Engaging read， but lacks the biographical scrutiny of Souhami's other books， in that ambiguities aren't explored or even mentioned， and instead Souhami makes decisions on what she thinks is most likely and presents them as the truth。 Other than that very funky fresh！！！！ Though， her refusal to engage with Bryher's gender was extremely frustrating， seeing as it was a big struggle in her life， and there are definitely some terfy undertones which are very yikes。 。。。more
mimo
，
An expansive history of the development of modernist art and writing in which four women-loving women were involved。 Each section is subdivided into relatively short snippets giving the history of a person or a relationship， and the writing style is simple and clear， making for easy reading。 I did think the snippets had a tendency to wander off on tangents that weren't directly concerned with the four lesbians Souhami focuses on， but I appreciate the effort to pull together all this queer histor An expansive history of the development of modernist art and writing in which four women-loving women were involved。 Each section is subdivided into relatively short snippets giving the history of a person or a relationship， and the writing style is simple and clear， making for easy reading。 I did think the snippets had a tendency to wander off on tangents that weren't directly concerned with the four lesbians Souhami focuses on， but I appreciate the effort to pull together all this queer history， which I'm sure I wouldn't have heard about otherwise。You can really feel the love and respect Souhami has for her subjects。 That said， if you want to read this book， I'd advise doing so even slower than I did - otherwise， their lives/personalities start to sound really dysfunctional and indolent。 。。。more
Eleanor
，
I am a lesbian historian， and this is one of those books that expanded my knowledge exponentially， and I am grateful for it。 It was wonderfully easy to read， with 100-ish page chapters for each of the four lesbians， but with many smaller sections within those chapters。 This is lesbian history， but it is also queer history。 It prioritises the lesbian voice and gives us a historical place to live。 There is always overlap with lesbian and trans histories， and to celebrate one does not deny the othe I am a lesbian historian， and this is one of those books that expanded my knowledge exponentially， and I am grateful for it。 It was wonderfully easy to read， with 100-ish page chapters for each of the four lesbians， but with many smaller sections within those chapters。 This is lesbian history， but it is also queer history。 It prioritises the lesbian voice and gives us a historical place to live。 There is always overlap with lesbian and trans histories， and to celebrate one does not deny the other - in the words of Monique Wittig， after all， lesbians are not women。 。。。more
Robyn Deane
，
Absolutely brilliant account of the forgotten women of the modernist period， alongside mention of romance and general gossip of that time。 Great book for anyone interested in researching lesbian artists during the rise of Modernism。
Geri
，
An approachable and interesting entry point to the queer world of 1920s Paris and modernism and some of the fascinating figures and connections within that world。 However I can’t recommend or talk about this book without some significant disclaimers。 Beyond the author’s somewhat messy disclaimer at the beginning， I wish this book had done more to look at gender identity， race， and class in general - and been a little more careful in her conversations and application of labels - especially with r An approachable and interesting entry point to the queer world of 1920s Paris and modernism and some of the fascinating figures and connections within that world。 However I can’t recommend or talk about this book without some significant disclaimers。 Beyond the author’s somewhat messy disclaimer at the beginning， I wish this book had done more to look at gender identity， race， and class in general - and been a little more careful in her conversations and application of labels - especially with regard to Bryher。 It’s complicated at any time to apply “modern” terms to the past and I think there is definitely some grey area here - but that shouldn’t be waved off with a few paragraphs in the intro and a few jokes about alphabet soup。 。。。more
Gloria
，
I enjoyed reading this capacious biography of 4 important modernists。 I mainly read it when I was ill and insomniac and it was a warm bath！ Crammed with facts and personalities， and flowing generally smoothly between a lot of different people， places and projects， through the framework of taking each life separately。 For me personally it is somewhat limited by the author's lack of interest and engagement with two （and quite overlapping） aspects of these queer modernists- gender/trans studies and I enjoyed reading this capacious biography of 4 important modernists。 I mainly read it when I was ill and insomniac and it was a warm bath！ Crammed with facts and personalities， and flowing generally smoothly between a lot of different people， places and projects， through the framework of taking each life separately。 For me personally it is somewhat limited by the author's lack of interest and engagement with two （and quite overlapping） aspects of these queer modernists- gender/trans studies and aesthetics （the politics of form/content）。 The effect of this is sometimes an uncomfortable reading AGAINST the evidence and testimony of peoples' lives （I'd feel uncomfortable calling Bryher a lesbian given Bryher's constant disidentification with womanhood） but also just generally a rather uncurious， flat commentary on the aesthetics of modernism in relationship not only to gender but also to race and class。 Sometimes it just reads like 'weird art！ all made by queer people！ weird eh？' which given the complex differences as well as the similarities between these 4 queers， seems to do all of them rather a disservice and leaves the ending on Stein's death just after WW2 a rather sudden and inconclusive one。 。。。more
Erica G
，
This book feels like the culmination and thesis of Diana Souhami's life's work as a biographer of influential lesbians in the early 20th century。 I could read about Natalie Barney for days （and I have） and I would love to read more about Bryher， in particular。。。I think the introduction does a good job of explaining how she is using lesbian and LGBTQIA as umbrella terms。 Souhami acknowledges that identities like 'lesbian' were not necessarily claimed or used by her subjects （apart from Natalie） b This book feels like the culmination and thesis of Diana Souhami's life's work as a biographer of influential lesbians in the early 20th century。 I could read about Natalie Barney for days （and I have） and I would love to read more about Bryher， in particular。。。I think the introduction does a good job of explaining how she is using lesbian and LGBTQIA as umbrella terms。 Souhami acknowledges that identities like 'lesbian' were not necessarily claimed or used by her subjects （apart from Natalie） but that， for the time， this is how these individuals were viewed and talked about， while also leaving space for how those identities might have been different if Sylvia， Bryher， Natalie， Gertrude， and others would have lived today。 。。。more
Miranda
，
I absolutely adore 1920’s Paris， but I was really disappointed in the author’s handling of Bryher。 The author acknowledges that Bryher does not feel they are a cis-gender woman， but proceeds to use female pronouns。 The author then uses the term “LGB” which is exclusionary of trans individuals。 I just don’t see how there can be a good discussion of the development of modernism and the effect of the lesbian （and by extension， the entire LGBTQIA+） community when the author doesn’t include trans mem I absolutely adore 1920’s Paris， but I was really disappointed in the author’s handling of Bryher。 The author acknowledges that Bryher does not feel they are a cis-gender woman， but proceeds to use female pronouns。 The author then uses the term “LGB” which is exclusionary of trans individuals。 I just don’t see how there can be a good discussion of the development of modernism and the effect of the lesbian （and by extension， the entire LGBTQIA+） community when the author doesn’t include trans members in that group。 。。。more
Stella Ottewill
，
A wonderful， truly human book in which I found myself beautifully immersed。Natalie Barney’s chapter is the weakest—largely due to its sanguine quality， jumping from mini biography to mini biography to adequately illustrate （some of her） many lovers。The Bryher chapter is quite painful to read; a sad life in small waysBut the chapters on Sylvia Beach and Gertrude Stein are glorious， not only because here are the women most engaged with the modernism I love， but because they lived such truthful liv A wonderful， truly human book in which I found myself beautifully immersed。Natalie Barney’s chapter is the weakest—largely due to its sanguine quality， jumping from mini biography to mini biography to adequately illustrate （some of her） many lovers。The Bryher chapter is quite painful to read; a sad life in small waysBut the chapters on Sylvia Beach and Gertrude Stein are glorious， not only because here are the women most engaged with the modernism I love， but because they lived such truthful lives。A pleasure to read。 。。。more
Klara Persson
，
Took me from a sunny cliff in Stockholm archipelago to another place in history。 Breathtaking。 Enjoyed most of it， but got frustrated by Gertrude Stein （not Souhami´s fault ;）
Muriel
，
Ik heb dit boek met plezier gelezen， maar vind het een vreemd， bijwijlen wat slordig werk。 Het valt uiteen in vier niet-echt-aan-elkaar-hangende en vooral ruwe portretten van Sylvia Beach， ‘Bryher’， Nathalie Barney en Gertrude Stein， en meer specifiek: de impact van deze monumentale dames op het modernisme in het begin van de vorige eeuw - met Parijs als middelpunt。Voor wie er al één en ander vanaf weet - waaronder ikzelf - valt er niet zo héél veel nieuws te rapen， want Souhami lijkt vooral de Ik heb dit boek met plezier gelezen， maar vind het een vreemd， bijwijlen wat slordig werk。 Het valt uiteen in vier niet-echt-aan-elkaar-hangende en vooral ruwe portretten van Sylvia Beach， ‘Bryher’， Nathalie Barney en Gertrude Stein， en meer specifiek: de impact van deze monumentale dames op het modernisme in het begin van de vorige eeuw - met Parijs als middelpunt。Voor wie er al één en ander vanaf weet - waaronder ikzelf - valt er niet zo héél veel nieuws te rapen， want Souhami lijkt vooral de al goed gedocumenteerde levensverhalen wat compacter te brengen。 Het verhaal van Sylvia Beach， het iconische “Shakespeare & Co” en de hele hetze met James Joyce is al vaker， en met meer verve， verteld onder meer door Beach zelf， maar ook door bijvoorbeeld Noël Riley Fitch in “Sylvia Beach & The Lost Generation” - aanraders both。Over Bryher en Nathalie Barney wist ik nog niet zoveel， dus dat was interessanter， al lijkt de verdienste van beiden vooral te zijn geweest dat ze fabelachtig rijk waren en as such heel wat kunstenaars en projecten hebben ondersteund of mogelijk gemaakt。 Zonder Beach geen Joyce， maar zonder Bryher ook geen Beach， enz。 Van Barney onthoud ik vooral dat ze lak had aan alles en iedereen， en dat half （vrouwelijk） Parijs tussen haar lakens heeft gelegen （iets wat Virginia Woolf heel erg verwonderde， wat ik dan weer grappig vond）。 Het laatste deel - over Gertrude Stein - vond ik het vreemdst。 Vooral het portret van Alice Toklas is niet bepaald flatterend。 Dat ze een snor had， herhaalt Souhami ad nauseam。 En dat deze handmaiden （Steins lover maar ook typiste， manager， kokkin， poetsvrouw） eigenlijk alle touwtjes strak in handen had en alle vrouwen jaloers en angstvallig van Stein weghield。 Souhami lijkt niet zo hoog op te lopen met het werk van Stein， waar ze verrassend vaak de draak mee steekt。 Wie meer wil lezen over dit onderwerp， navigeer ik met plezier naar de memoires van Sylvia Beach en haar brieven， het al genoemde boek van Fitch， en bijvoorbeeld ook “A Moveable Feast” van Hemingway en “The Autobiography of Alice B Toklas” van Gertrude Stein - zowaar een grappig en zeer leesbaar Stein boek， allicht het enige。 Leuke bezigheid: zien hoe Hemingway en Stein - ooit de beste maatjes， tot ze elkaar niet meer konden luchten - elkaar de duvel aandoen in hun memoires。 Zelf ga ik na lezing op zoek naar de Pilgrimage reeks van de totaal vergeten Dorothy Richardson （“Pointed Roofs” is het eerste boek）， “The Heart to Artemis” van Bryher en de biografie Van Janet Flanner， waarvan ik niet meer wist dat ik die had， maar die ik tussen mijn boekentorens toevallig tegenkwam。 。。。more
Rachel
，
A marvellous book which explores the lives of Sylvia Beach， Bryher， Natalie Barney， and Gertrude Stein in rich detail。 This is a biography of four people who sparked and fanned the flames of Modernism。 It is beautifully written and scrupulously researched。 The book’s narrative flows from person to place and back again， making it both profuse in the telling of their unique lives， whilst breathing life into interwar Paris and the world that they called home。It is an absolute must read。
Claire
，
Any book written about early 1900’s Paris culture is on my reading list。 This is a unique tale of four extraordinary and influential women of the time， that I previously knew next to nothing about。 So every page was a revelation - their lives， their art， their lovers and their friends including Picasso， Hemingway， Joyce amongst others。 A real treat， it transported me to another time and place and I didn’t want to leave。
Rowan Adamson
，
A really interesting book， but unsure if it’s for everybody。 Very detailed history of influential women in the early 1900’s and their contributions to art and culture， and examples of early incarnations of same-sex relationships。
Areeb Ahmad （Bankrupt_Bookworm）
，
"The Paris lesbians had to free themselves from male authority， the controlling hand， the forbidding edict。 They escaped the disapproval of fathers and the repression of censors and lawmakers， defined their own terms and shaped their own lives。 They did not reject all men – they were intrinsic to furthering the careers of writers， film-makers and artists whose work and ideas they admired。 What shifted was the power base， the chain of command。"RATING: 5/5My gratitude to the excellent people at He "The Paris lesbians had to free themselves from male authority， the controlling hand， the forbidding edict。 They escaped the disapproval of fathers and the repression of censors and lawmakers， defined their own terms and shaped their own lives。 They did not reject all men – they were intrinsic to furthering the careers of writers， film-makers and artists whose work and ideas they admired。 What shifted was the power base， the chain of command。"RATING: 5/5My gratitude to the excellent people at Head of Zeus for sending this absolutely wonderful book across to me in exchange for an honest review。 Needless to say， I loved it immensely。Diana Souhami has been writing about lesbian lives for more than three decades。 She looks at her works as a means of breaking open the history of silence because acceptance can't happen without openness。 She remarks， "If you're silent and invisible you're no trouble to anyone。 You're so buried you're assumed not to be there。 So， historically， we have to dig deep to shed light on 'these practices'， rid them of insult， turn the wrongdoing around， name & shame the abusers。" Her lively portraits of strong， rebellious women who subverted the norms of their times in order to emerge as independent human beings with full agency over their minds & bodies， able to do whatever they want and love whoever they want， unmindful of censure。In this group biography， Souhami focuses on the remarkable lives of four visionary women who lived in Paris in between the two world wars and were significantly involved in the emergence of modernism as a literary and cultural movement。 Sylvia Beach started the legendary Paris bookshop， Shakespeare and Company。 She also published James Joyce's Ulysses， a controversial novel with which no other publisher in the world would even think of being associated at that time。 Bryher， the daughter of the richest man in England， used her vast inheritance to fund new writing and film， support struggling artists， writers， and thinkers。 Natalie Barney， most wealthy of all， strived to create a new Lesbos， the sapphic centre of the Western world， right in Paris。 She embraced her lesbianism， had a plethora of concurrent romantic affairs， and lived like there was no tomorrow。 Gertrude Stein was extremely pivotal in advancing the careers of modernist painters and writers， her stamp of approval was sought far and wide。 She also broke the limits of what English prose can do and distilled lived realities into her works but her genius was tragically underappreciated。None of these women， or their friends and companions， were perfect by any means and nor does Souhami depict them as perfect in any way。 They were very complex individuals， human beings with their own human failings。 They led non-stereotypical contentious lives and managed to free themselves from the chains society placed on them in order to do remarkable things。 They refused to let men dictate their lives and threw them over。 Nor were they bound by heteronormativity and restrictive gender binaries。 All of them were fearless and single-minded， outspoken and unapologetic。 They derived their power from their own selves， rather than rely on men to throw them a few morsels now and then。 All of them worked towards breaking away from established orthodoxies， and in the words of Truman Capote， established an "international daisy-chain"。 Written in engagingly uplifting prose， No Modernism Without Lesbians is a ravishing work of non-fiction。 Diana Souhami brilliantly records the complex lives of these extraordinary women and they come alive in vivid ways。 Her love for them is easily visible。 I really want to find out more about them all。 。。。more
Sophie McDermott
，