Sylvia Beach and the Lost Generation: A History of Literary Paris in the Twenties and Thirties [Paperback]

Noel Riley Fitch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 17, 1985

Noel Riley Fitch has written a perfect book, full to the brim with literary history, correct and whole-hearted both in statement and in implication. She makes me feel and remember a good many things that happened before and after my time. I'm glad to have lived long enough to read it. --Glenway Wescott

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In 1917, Sylvia Beach walked into a Paris bookshop, where she met Adrienne Monnier, the woman who would become her life companion. In 1919, Beach opened her own English-language bookshop and lending library, Shakespeare and Company, which would become the cynosure of an entire literary movement. Literary expatriates were drawn to her shop, and Ernest Hemingway declared of Sylvia, "No one that I ever knew was nicer to me." But her most celebrated literary efforts are those she made on behalf of her literary idol, James Joyce, undertaking the publication of Ulysses. Noel Riley Fitch uses Beach as the focal point for a fascinating portrait of an artistic community filled with anecdote after anecdote. From the intellectual salons at Natalie Barney's residence--of which "William Carlos Williams would recall only the lesbian women dancing together"--to the seemingly constant presence of Ezra Pound, Fitch's account solidifies the importance of the time and place he so vividly re-creates. --Ron Hogan

Review

“Fitch fills out many gaps in the Joyce story and offers us a new view of Joyce, the genius, the injustice collector, and the most incredible literary leech of all time. Sylvia Beach emerges as one of the most remarkable women of the twenties.” (Leon Edel )

“Courageous, hardworking, self-sacrificing, determined, witty, and charming, Sylvia Beach built her famous Shakespeare and Company Bookshop into a veritable hub of international literature, published Joyce's Ulysses, [and] served as cheerful den-mother to hundreds of writers, artists, and composers.... Professor Fitch's richly detailed biography, the product of ten years' research, projects Miss Beach's busy life against the moving background of literary Paris in the golden age between the wars, and stands as an admirable and wonderfully readable achievement in historical biography.” (Carlos Baker )

“An absorbing book, backed by an impressive amount of research. Working from the rich collection of Sylvia Beach's papers, Noel Fitch has written an objective story that corrects many of the errors and misjudgments to be found in other literary memoirs of those eventful years in Paris.” (Malcolm Cowley )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (May 17, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393302318
• ISBN-13: 978-0393302318
• Product Dimensions: 1.2 x 5.8 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #55,854 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #24 in Books > Literature & Fiction > History & Criticism > Books & Reading > Booksellers & Bookselling

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 69 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive history of expatriate Paris May 12, 1998

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

This book has been in print for many years because it is the definitive history of literary Paris for the expatriates of the 1920s and 1930s. It is now happily used as a text book in universities, but is intented as a good read for any general reader interested in Hemingway, Stein, Joyce, Pound, and company.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars keen and insightful.... May 17, 2004

By S. A Troutt

Format:Paperback

This is one of the best books that I've ever read about the 'lost generation' of Americans literary refugees in Paris. The writing is excellent, the research exhaustive and thorough with unparalleled access to Ms. Beach's 'surpressed' portions of her autobiography "Shakespeare and Company". It is readily apparent from this book that without Ms. Beach and her unflinching support, there would have been no "Ulysses" (and maybe no James Joyce). But there was so many other authors she supported and nurtured as well, as the quote from Ernest Hemingway cited above illustrates as well. This book is almost a 'must read' for those persons interested in American literature of the mid 20th century.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars WELL RESEARCHED - FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN OUR LITERATURE April 12, 2005

By D. Blankenship HALL OF FAMETOP 50 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

This one has been around for some time now and it is not the worse for wear. For those interested in our literature and literary Paris during the 1920s and 1930s, then this is one of those "must reads" (I truely hate that term, but know of no better to describe the improtance of this work at this time). The author's research is absolutely miticulous and fills in many gaps in the story of this remarkable woman. Do be warned though. Many of the names of people mentioned here are rather obscure (at this day and time) for those not immersed in the literary world. This can make the work a bit difficult to follow at times. That being said, this is a wonderful work to read to cause many of these names to become less obscure than they are now...one more of the many reasons to read this work! The book covers some of the intimate details of Beach's relationship with friends and lovers that she so well side steps in her own account of this time. Recommend this one highly. Actually, you probably should purchase this one as it is one that is a good book for reference and one you will probably want to reread.