Our Hearts Were Young & Gay [Hardcover]

Emily Kimbrough (Author), Cornelia Otis Skinner (Author), Alajalov (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1942

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From AudioFile

Celeste Lawson does a fine reading of this classic memoir. First published in 1942, it tells the story of two innocents abroad in the 1920s. Nineteen-year-old Cornelia Otis Skinner and twenty-one-year-old Emily Kimbrough set out on the adventure of a lifetime, first on the high seas and then in England. From ships running aground, to hiding a case of the measles to avoid quarantine, to unwittingly taking lodgings in a brothel, the young women experience one madcap adventure after another. Without excessive ingenuousness, Lawson keeps her reading on an even keel, allowing clever dialogue, comical situations, and witty repartee to carry the story forward. Nostalgia for a time when the most expensive item on a chic restaurant's menu was $2.95 will keep listeners engaged. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 247 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Publishing Group; Book Club edition (December 1942)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0396024017
• ISBN-13: 978-0396024019
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #730,100 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely the funniest book I've ever read!!, February 6, 2001

By 

Jenni Grubb "Jenni" (Virginia Beach) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Our Hearts Were Young and Gay (American Autobiography) (Library Binding)

A long time hobby of mine has been to watch classic films, then scour used bookstores looking for the original work on which the films was based. When I first saw the film "Our Hearts Were Young And Gay", I knew I just had to find the book! Little did I realize that the European adventures of these two girls in the 1920s was actually not a work of fiction! There is even a line at the introduction of the book that reads "Lest the reader should be in any doubt, we wish to state that the incidents in this book are all true and the characters completely non-fictitious." I recently took this book on my first trip to Europe and found it delightful and funny. Great for those long hours waiting for and flying on planes. I must admit that this is the first book that ever had me literally laughing out loud.

Of course with any story turned into a film, it was kissed with a bit of Hollywood glamour and parts were left on the cutting room floor, but the story is truly witty, charming and fun and follows very closely to the book. See the movie if you can catch it on a classic movie channel! It hasn't been released on video or DVD yet. As for the book, the pages are worn and the dustjacket is ripped but it will always be in my library and I look forward to reading it over and over again.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Girl Power": - '20's Style, January 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Our Hearts Were Young and Gay (Hardcover)

I purchased a paperback copy of this book when I was in elementary school and have cherished it ever since. Even though I have read the book many times, I still laugh at the girls' many adventures. It's a joy to read a well-written book, and these two ladies know how to turn a phrase. Even the most incidental characters come to life - from Miss Mary in Canada to the French madam who is befuddled by the fact that her establishment has been recommended by a publication listing safe accomodations for well-bred young ladies. Cornelia and Emily, lifelong friends, will seem like your longtime friends after you read this book.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Our Hearts... the funniest book I had read., August 1, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Our Hearts Were Young and Gay (Hardcover)

'Our hearts were young and gay' was the funniest book I had read for a long time when I came across it some ten years ago. Cornelia otis Skinner's adventures with her friend, Emily Kimbrough were really hilarious. I had always wanted to travel and this book (amongst others) only increased my determination to achieve that ambition which I did a year or two later. I even had the opportunity to visit a few of the places they mentioned such as Rouen and the beautiful seaside village of St Valery. Because of this book I have ended up collecting anything either author has written. Cornelia Otis Skinner has an easy going natural style which relies on the ability to tell a good story well. It is the way she wrote that makes the stories so funny and witty and it was a real shame that she did not write more in this way. Her stories of Paris made that city come alive in such a way that some sixty years later, even with so much social and political change, the Paris she first kne! w of can still be seen if one wants to look for it. I would certainly reccommend this book to anyone who likes to travel and can relate their own funny experiences with these two intrepid travellers. The book is not a conventional account of a journey with long descriptive passages but can be best described as a quirky and silly account that is good for a laugh and which can bring to mind our own quirky adventures.