William Wiser

This is a wonderful book and I thank my friend on Goodreads (don't remember who it was, but someone had it on their list) from whom I learned of its existence.

Wiser talks about many of the writers, artists, entertainers, rich party-goers who lived in Paris in the 1920s. One review I read said it was just a long list of name-dropping, but I didn't find that to be true. There were so many people discussed that I sometimes got confused and didn't keep all the relationships straight. On the other hand, I've read several other books about many of these same people, so it was good to read about them in a slightly different light. Mostly, this is a book of short vignettes, bringing these very interesting people to life. One example is of an entertainer I had never heard of:
"Barbette was the sensation of several theatrical seasons at the Alhambra and the Casino de Paris: the transvestite performer from Round Rock, Texas, whose real name was Vander Clyde, did a graceful tightrope act as a lovely nymph in tights and ostrich feathers."

The engaging vignettes are accompanied with many, many photos. I highly recommend this book to anyone even vaguely interested in this topic. Hey, Paris in the 20s, what's not to like?… (mehr)

Light biographies covering the Paris years of five women whose lives were connected with the arts, in more or less chronological order: Mary Cassatt, Edith Wharton, Caresse Crosby, Zelda Fitzgerald, and Josephine Baker.. The author assumes that readers are familiar with his well-documented subjects (with the exception, perhaps, of Caresse Crosby, a relative unknown who lived high and went in for the publication of cheap but well-produced editions of English language books). Told with easy grace by an author with an insider's feel for Paris.… (mehr)