Sister Brother: Gertrude and Leo Stein -

Brenda Wineapple

G.P. Putnam's Sons

1996

514 páginas

17h 8m

ISBN-10: 0399141030

Devoted, eccentric and compelling, Gertrude and Leo Stein were constant companions from childhood to adulthood, until they finally quit speaking to each other. As Americans and expatriates -- and virtual orphans -- they lived together for almost forty years, collaborating in one of the great artistic and literary adventures of the twentieth century. Sister Brother tells the story of this unique adventure and relationship.

With a personality that drew people toward her -- regardless of what they thought of her inventive, hermetic prose -- Gertrude Stein dazzled and perplexed. Enigmatic, intelligent and self-absorbed, Leo also dazzled in his own way. One of the crucial figures in Gertrude's early years, he was the original guiding spirit of the famed salon at 27 rue de Fleurus, which continued for almost two decades. From her early days as a medical student to her first days in Paris, Gertrude was passionately driven toward a career in which she distinguished herself, demanding appreciation as an exceptional writer who knew precisely what she intended. This book shows how Gertrude slowly struggled with what became her unique voice -- and why her brother spurned it.

With a wealth of new and rare material, including a reconstruction of Leo's famed art collection, this book captures an array of characters from Bernard Berenson to Pablo Picasso and offers the first glimpse into the sibling relationship that helped to form the modern art movement of the twentieth century.