Ladies Almanack [Paperback]

Djuna Barnes (Author), Steven Moore (Afterword)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1992

"Now this be a Tale of as fine a Wench as ever wet Bed . . . Thus begins this Almanack, which all Ladies should carry about with them, as the Priest his Breviary, as the Cook his Recipes, as the Doctor his Physic, as the Bride her Fears, and as the Lion his Roar!"

Barnes's affectionate lampoon of the expatriate lesbian community in Paris was privately printed in 1928. Arranged by month, it records the life and loves of Dame Evangeline Musset (modeled after salon hostess Natalie Barney) in a robust style taken from Shakespeare and Robert Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy, and is illustrated throughout with Barnes's own drawings.

This new edition is a facsimile of the 1928 edition with the addition of an afterword providing details on the book's origins and a key to its real-life models.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Djuna Barnes must have had great fun writing and illustrating this book. It's a lively lampoon of her lesbian chums of Left Bank Paris in the 1920s. The main character, Dame Evangeline Musset, is based on the notorious dyke Natalie Barney. Structured as a month-by-month almanac in a style that owes as much to Shakespeare's comedies as to any literature of the intervening centuries, Barnes's book follows the Dame's amorous, often naughty, adventures.

Review

[I]f you are able to contain your cackling long enough to consider the truth underlying the jest, you will come away with an understanding of the dilemmas facing lesbians at the opening of the century. You'll find that they are not much different from the questions we grapple with today. (Lambda Book Report )

As an 'Almanack,' the book celebrates the uniqueness of women . . . extolling their society with separatist sentiment not violent or radical so much as mirthful and delightful. (The Daily Helmsman )

Djuna Barnes remains a reminder of the Road Not Yet Taken—international, devious, perverse, verbally abundant, psychologically subtle. (Edmund White - Voice Literary Supplement )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 92 pages
• Publisher: Dalkey Archive (January 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0916583880
• ISBN-13: 978-0916583880
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #494,189 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #80 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Nonfiction > Women's Studies > General

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An extraordinary book. Great fun reading and rereading it., February 19, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Ladies Almanack (Cutting Edge: Lesbian Life & Literature) (Paperback)

This is a funny book written in a poetry like style.The amusing illustrations are inspired on old wood engravings.But it's not only the story an the illustrations that are interesting. The book itself, the way it was published and distributed is also verry interesting and even romantic.In 1928 'spicy' books weren't allowed, not even in Paris France. So it was privately published in a small edition of which about 50 copies were hand coloured by the author. All books were sold by Djuna Barnes and some frends in secret along the Seine.With the help of Natalie Barneys copie the 1972 edition contains an explanation of the names used in the story and who they were in real life.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fine storytelling, December 19, 2005

By 

Book Lover - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ladies Almanack (Paperback)

Djuna Barnes (June 12, 1892 - June 18, 1982) played an important part in the development of 20th century English language modernist writing by women and was one of the key figures in 1920s and 30s bohemian Paris.

Her novel Nightwood became a cult work of modern fiction, helped by an introduction written by T.S. Eliot, and stands out for for its portrayal of lesbian themes and distinctive style.

Barnes spent the last 40 years of her life as a recluse in New York city. Since her death, interest in her work has grown and many of her books, like this one, are now back in print.

Her books are lively, irreverent, and just plain fun to read in modern times. I highly recommend that you introduce yourself to this original author!