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February House: The Story of W.H. Auden, Carson McCullers, Jane and Paul Bowles, Benjamin Britten, and Gypsy Rose Lee, Under One Roof in Brooklyn
February House is the uncovered story of an extraordinary experiment in communal living, one involving young but already iconic writers -- and the country's best-known burlesque performer -- in a house at 7 Middagh Street in Brooklyn during 1940 and 1941. It was a fevered yearlong party fueled by the appetites of youth and by the shared sense of urgency to take action as artists in the months before America entered the war.
In spite of the sheer intensity of life at 7 Middagh, the house was for its residents a creative crucible. Carson McCullers's two masterpieces, The Member of the Wedding and The Ballad of the Sad Cafe, were born, bibulously, in Brooklyn. Gypsy Rose Lee, workmanlike by day, party girl by night, wrote her book The G-String Murders in her Middagh Street bedroom. Auden -- who along with Britten was being excoriated at home in England for absenting himself from the war -- presided over the house like a peevish auntie, collecting rent money and dispensing romantic advice. And yet all the while he was composing some of the most important work of his career.
Sherill Tippins's February House, enlivened by primary sources and an unforgettable story, masterfully recreates daily life at the most fertile and improbable live-in salon of the twentieth century.
In spite of the sheer intensity of life at 7 Middagh, the house was for its residents a creative crucible. Carson McCullers's two masterpieces, The Member of the Wedding and The Ballad of the Sad Cafe, were born, bibulously, in Brooklyn. Gypsy Rose Lee, workmanlike by day, party girl by night, wrote her book The G-String Murders in her Middagh Street bedroom. Auden -- who along with Britten was being excoriated at home in England for absenting himself from the war -- presided over the house like a peevish auntie, collecting rent money and dispensing romantic advice. And yet all the while he was composing some of the most important work of his career.
Sherill Tippins's February House, enlivened by primary sources and an unforgettable story, masterfully recreates daily life at the most fertile and improbable live-in salon of the twentieth century.
336 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2005
124 people are currently reading
1226 people want to read
About the author
Sherill Tippins
13 books17 followersSHERILL TIPPINS is the author of February House: The Story of W. H. Auden, Carson McCullers, Jane and Paul Bowles, Benjamin Britten and Gypsy Rose Lee Under One Roof in Wartime America. She lives in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews
October 7, 2009
For most of my life, my favorite period of history has been the 35 or 40 years just prior to my own arrival. Whether tales of the Algonquin Round Table, Barbara Tuchman's The Proud Tower and The Guns of August, Schlesinger's history of FDR's presidency, or fiction set in the period, I'm always drawn to it. So when http://www.todayinliterature.com recently mentioned February House, I was pleased to find it at my local library. I had a hard time putting it down.
The book is the true story of one year in the lives of a group of writers, musicians, and artists who either lived at, or visited frequently, a house in Brooklyn Heights. The year is 1940-1941. The residents and their friends include such well-known names as Carson McCullers, W. H. Auden, Benjamin Britten, Peter Pears, Gypsy Rose Lee, Klaus and Erika Mann (son and daughter of Thomas Mann), Paul Bowles and his wife Jane Salvador Dali author: Christopher Isherwood.... George Davis, whose idea it was to rent the house and make it a sort of artistic commune, is less well known now, but was fiction editor at Harper's Bazaar when that meant publishing serious and even avant-garde fiction, and later married Lotte Lenya, the widow of Kurt Weill, and was instrumental in keeping Weill's music before the public.
February House is much more than a book full of famous names and entertaining stories. It examines the tensions of the period, when America was not yet in the war; when the American artistic and intellectual community was welcoming and assisting European colleagues to safety in the U.S., while simultaneously feeling competitive with them. Auden, Britten, Pears and Isherwood, as Britons who had come to the U.S. before the war, suffered both inner conflict and outward criticism for being away from their native land in its time of crisis. Many of the group were homosexual or bisexual, with all the problems that entailed at a time when one could be arrested for acting on that orientation. But most importantly, there was the creative impulse that unified them and sometimes divided them. How does an artist of any kind find or create the optimum conditions for doing his work? What should that work be, in a time of international crisis? And, as one might expect in a group of twenty- and thirty-somethings, where and how does one find love? A great deal of energy was expended on love -- requited or unrequited, romantic, Platonic, or triangulated.
February House is a fascinating book, almost guaranteed to make the reader want to dig deeper into the works of the writers, musicians and artists it describes, and also evoking an exciting and terrifying time in our history as well as a vanished (literally -- the house was torn down in 1945 for an expressway) part of New York. Highly recommended.
The book is the true story of one year in the lives of a group of writers, musicians, and artists who either lived at, or visited frequently, a house in Brooklyn Heights. The year is 1940-1941. The residents and their friends include such well-known names as Carson McCullers, W. H. Auden, Benjamin Britten, Peter Pears, Gypsy Rose Lee, Klaus and Erika Mann (son and daughter of Thomas Mann), Paul Bowles and his wife Jane Salvador Dali author: Christopher Isherwood.... George Davis, whose idea it was to rent the house and make it a sort of artistic commune, is less well known now, but was fiction editor at Harper's Bazaar when that meant publishing serious and even avant-garde fiction, and later married Lotte Lenya, the widow of Kurt Weill, and was instrumental in keeping Weill's music before the public.
February House is much more than a book full of famous names and entertaining stories. It examines the tensions of the period, when America was not yet in the war; when the American artistic and intellectual community was welcoming and assisting European colleagues to safety in the U.S., while simultaneously feeling competitive with them. Auden, Britten, Pears and Isherwood, as Britons who had come to the U.S. before the war, suffered both inner conflict and outward criticism for being away from their native land in its time of crisis. Many of the group were homosexual or bisexual, with all the problems that entailed at a time when one could be arrested for acting on that orientation. But most importantly, there was the creative impulse that unified them and sometimes divided them. How does an artist of any kind find or create the optimum conditions for doing his work? What should that work be, in a time of international crisis? And, as one might expect in a group of twenty- and thirty-somethings, where and how does one find love? A great deal of energy was expended on love -- requited or unrequited, romantic, Platonic, or triangulated.
February House is a fascinating book, almost guaranteed to make the reader want to dig deeper into the works of the writers, musicians and artists it describes, and also evoking an exciting and terrifying time in our history as well as a vanished (literally -- the house was torn down in 1945 for an expressway) part of New York. Highly recommended.
May 24, 2020
4.5, rounded up
If time travel were possible, I would send myself back to 1940-41 to spend just one evening at 7 Middagh Street, Brooklyn. As that option is currently impossible, stepping into the pages of Sherrill Tippins’ February House offers the next best thing. And what a treat it is. The rundown house was the talk of New York. Artists, musicians and authors clamored for an invitation and there was a long list of those looking for a chance at occupancy. It was the most exciting literary salon of the time, the ’epicenter of European & American culture’. The inhabitants consisted of a group of young artists, under the age of thirty-four, most still in their twenties, who had shot to early fame: W.H. Auden, Carson McCullers, Benjamin Britten and his lover Peter Pears, Jane and Paul Bowles, the famous burlesque star Gypsy Rose Lee and others. Even a chimpanzee lived there for a short period.
‘February House’, as it was coined by Anais Nin, was George Davis’ dream, an experiment in communal living, of sharing ideas with the hope of fostering productive artistry. Although the drinking and partying led to loud, long nights, not always conducive to work, McCullers, while living there (off and on due to her health), worked on her last two masterpieces, The Ballad of the Sad Café and The Member of the Wedding, Gypsy Rose Lee started writing her mystery, The G-String Murders and Auden did some of his best work. Many notable people passed in and out of the house as guests – Christopher Isherwood, Janet Flanner, Klaus and Erika Mann, Salvador Dali and his intimidating wife Gala …the list goes on.
Tippins does an admirable job in juggling her prodigious cast of characters, portraying these larger-than-life artists while working within the constraints of a small slice of history. She avoids sacrificing the individual under these limitations, capturing their unique personalities and bringing them to life. She manages to portray a motley mix of eccentrics with respect and sympathy while providing some fabulous, unforgettable, ‘gossipy’ anecdotes along the way. She also offers a look at the tensions that arose as Europe fought the Nazis (it was the year before the United States entered WWII) and how they impacted Auden, Isherwood and Britton, who faced criticism for not returning to England to fight.
Tippins’ book is serious, thoughtful, well researched, and the most fun I’ve had with a piece of nonfiction in recent years, even if I felt it fizzled out a bit at the end. Admittedly, my pleasure springs from the fact that several of the artists are beloved and have fascinated me for years. ‘February House’, 7 Middagh Street, was demolished in 1945 but it will not be easily forgotten. It even inspired a short-run musical of the same name in 2012. If time travel is ever available in my lifetime, book my ticket.
If time travel were possible, I would send myself back to 1940-41 to spend just one evening at 7 Middagh Street, Brooklyn. As that option is currently impossible, stepping into the pages of Sherrill Tippins’ February House offers the next best thing. And what a treat it is. The rundown house was the talk of New York. Artists, musicians and authors clamored for an invitation and there was a long list of those looking for a chance at occupancy. It was the most exciting literary salon of the time, the ’epicenter of European & American culture’. The inhabitants consisted of a group of young artists, under the age of thirty-four, most still in their twenties, who had shot to early fame: W.H. Auden, Carson McCullers, Benjamin Britten and his lover Peter Pears, Jane and Paul Bowles, the famous burlesque star Gypsy Rose Lee and others. Even a chimpanzee lived there for a short period.
‘February House’, as it was coined by Anais Nin, was George Davis’ dream, an experiment in communal living, of sharing ideas with the hope of fostering productive artistry. Although the drinking and partying led to loud, long nights, not always conducive to work, McCullers, while living there (off and on due to her health), worked on her last two masterpieces, The Ballad of the Sad Café and The Member of the Wedding, Gypsy Rose Lee started writing her mystery, The G-String Murders and Auden did some of his best work. Many notable people passed in and out of the house as guests – Christopher Isherwood, Janet Flanner, Klaus and Erika Mann, Salvador Dali and his intimidating wife Gala …the list goes on.
Tippins does an admirable job in juggling her prodigious cast of characters, portraying these larger-than-life artists while working within the constraints of a small slice of history. She avoids sacrificing the individual under these limitations, capturing their unique personalities and bringing them to life. She manages to portray a motley mix of eccentrics with respect and sympathy while providing some fabulous, unforgettable, ‘gossipy’ anecdotes along the way. She also offers a look at the tensions that arose as Europe fought the Nazis (it was the year before the United States entered WWII) and how they impacted Auden, Isherwood and Britton, who faced criticism for not returning to England to fight.
Tippins’ book is serious, thoughtful, well researched, and the most fun I’ve had with a piece of nonfiction in recent years, even if I felt it fizzled out a bit at the end. Admittedly, my pleasure springs from the fact that several of the artists are beloved and have fascinated me for years. ‘February House’, 7 Middagh Street, was demolished in 1945 but it will not be easily forgotten. It even inspired a short-run musical of the same name in 2012. If time travel is ever available in my lifetime, book my ticket.
August 14, 2007
This book has served to inspire several people I know to change their lives. It has inspired me to quit my job (goal not yet accomplished), JC to throw a dinner party, and Steev to wear violet gloves. Who knows what it will do for you?
December 5, 2009
7 Middagh Street literally doesn't exist any longer. It was torn down to make way for an Expressway. During the last decade of his life the poet Frank O'Hara lived in four different apartments in Manhattan and at least one of them has a commemorative plague. If 7 Middagh Street were still standing the entire building would have to be bronzed. George Davis, the fiction editior for "Harper's Bizaar," rented and renovated the house with the assistance of friends W. H. Auden and Carson McCullers. Together they sought to create a kind of year round Yaddo - a boarding house for artists. They were joined by Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears, Jane and Paul Bowles, Gypsy Rose Lee, Oliver Smith and Klaus Mann (among others). This is their story. As you can imagine, life at 7 Middagh Street was anything but boring.
This is the kind of biographical history I most enjoy reading. It focuses on a very specific period of time, communicating brilliantly the personal and professional triumphs and failures, as well as the ravaging effects of current world events these artists were dealing with while living together. It provides just the right balance of background material on each resident without ever becoming bogged down in trivial details that interrupt the natural progression of the story. Yes, there is a certain amount of "dirt." The spats between Auden and Paul Bowles are well documented, and the endless parade of sailors, the parties that lasted until dawn, the battling McCullers. Most of the residents, even those who were married, were either homosexual or bisexual. The book, and this history, is simply fascinating. If you care at all about 20th century art - literature and music especially - this is a book you shouldn't miss.
This is the kind of biographical history I most enjoy reading. It focuses on a very specific period of time, communicating brilliantly the personal and professional triumphs and failures, as well as the ravaging effects of current world events these artists were dealing with while living together. It provides just the right balance of background material on each resident without ever becoming bogged down in trivial details that interrupt the natural progression of the story. Yes, there is a certain amount of "dirt." The spats between Auden and Paul Bowles are well documented, and the endless parade of sailors, the parties that lasted until dawn, the battling McCullers. Most of the residents, even those who were married, were either homosexual or bisexual. The book, and this history, is simply fascinating. If you care at all about 20th century art - literature and music especially - this is a book you shouldn't miss.
April 18, 2007
i stole wishes from this book: i will live in a house, in brooklyn, with as many crazy creative people as possible, and we will create until the world explodes from our over-brilliance. and i will enjoy every second, for it's bound not to last for long. i also found new favourite authors (auden, mccullers) in it.
December 4, 2023
A gift from friends. Should be fun... Actually, I think this is a loaner from friends and I've had it long enough. It's time for some non-fiction anyway. I've read at least some of several of the writers mentioned in the title: Auden, McCullers, Paul Bowles and possibly more. No doubt this book is a treat for anyone interested in the literary scene in 1940's NYC. That's not a particular focus for me, but in general I'm interested in writers and writing so here we go.
About halfway through now as Gypsy Rose Lee has come and gone. Off to hang out with Mike Todd, the guy who married Liz Taylor and produced "Around the World in 80 Days"(if I'm not mistaken). I'm also getting a bit bored with all the twee shenanigans of the residents. LOTS of smoking and drinking and people acting like children, particularly George Davis, the head of the gang. I also confess to a bit of antipathy towards the homosexual "lifestyles" of Auden and Britten. One can see why Carson McCullers didn't live a long life, drinking alcohol from dawn to midnight - every day. She was (apparently)bisexual. The author quotes from many of Auden's poems. USUALLY that's as good thing, but judging from the quotes, Auden can seem to be a bit Eliot-lite-ish at times. Oh well, Paul and Jane Bowles haven't showed up yet. That might be interesting.
Finished a couple of days ago with the author unnecessarily filling word/page space with analyses of both Auden and Britten and what they were about personally and artistically. Intellectual blah-blah... Here's what I say - adult men(including Christopher Isherwood) who are focused on sexually "consuming" teenage boys are immature and self-absorbed sex criminals. That doesn't mean they can't be great artists, it does mean they ought to be doing the creating inside an institution... like a prison for sex offenders. For some reason the author seems to avoid judgement on the subject.
About halfway through now as Gypsy Rose Lee has come and gone. Off to hang out with Mike Todd, the guy who married Liz Taylor and produced "Around the World in 80 Days"(if I'm not mistaken). I'm also getting a bit bored with all the twee shenanigans of the residents. LOTS of smoking and drinking and people acting like children, particularly George Davis, the head of the gang. I also confess to a bit of antipathy towards the homosexual "lifestyles" of Auden and Britten. One can see why Carson McCullers didn't live a long life, drinking alcohol from dawn to midnight - every day. She was (apparently)bisexual. The author quotes from many of Auden's poems. USUALLY that's as good thing, but judging from the quotes, Auden can seem to be a bit Eliot-lite-ish at times. Oh well, Paul and Jane Bowles haven't showed up yet. That might be interesting.
Finished a couple of days ago with the author unnecessarily filling word/page space with analyses of both Auden and Britten and what they were about personally and artistically. Intellectual blah-blah... Here's what I say - adult men(including Christopher Isherwood) who are focused on sexually "consuming" teenage boys are immature and self-absorbed sex criminals. That doesn't mean they can't be great artists, it does mean they ought to be doing the creating inside an institution... like a prison for sex offenders. For some reason the author seems to avoid judgement on the subject.
January 25, 2022
Having studied Auden in grad school I am always interested in his life so when a friend mentioned this book I picked it up at the San Francisco Public Library, it was amusing and inspiring, Auden living in Brooklyn with Gypsy Rose Lane, Benjamin Britten( the composer), Carson McCullers, George Davis and others as well as their artistic dinner guests such as Louis McNeice, Dali, & many many more. It was a snapshot of an experiment in artistic communal living as well as a snapshot of an America that was about to be plunged into WWII. A quick and wonderful read!
April 28, 2019
Who the hell knew Gypsy Rose Lee lived with W.H. Auden and Carson McCullers in a commune in Brooklyn Heights? Why don't they teach this in school?
I read this book a year and a half ago, but now there's a "February House" musical, so it's back on my mind.
I read this book a year and a half ago, but now there's a "February House" musical, so it's back on my mind.
December 4, 2010
A fascinating look at a group of very creative people who lived together in some harmony and much discord between 1939-1941 -- very well written.
October 22, 2023
What an extraordinary book! I don’t believe I’ve read anything quite like it before! Without further ado, “February House” was an actual, physical, three-story building, with a real address, 7, Middagh (pronounced mid-daw) Street, Brooklyn Heights, New York. Apparently, it was whimsically named “February House” by French writer Anaïs Nin because so many of its occupants had a birthday in February. Most importantly, February House was the finest example of a “crucible of creativity” for a variety of writers, poets, artists, and musicians who lived there between 1940-1941.
It started as the brainchild of George Davis, a gifted and flamboyant editor at Harper’s Bazaar Magazine. Fluent in French, having spent many years in Paris amongst numerous expatriate writers and artists, Davis was exposed to the concept of a salon, an informal gathering place for artistic and literary intelligentsia—and he thought it would be fascinating to have one in Brooklyn Heights! He did just that after being fired from Harper’s Bazaar.
Davis was already friendly with 24-year-old Carson McCullers, Harper’s Bazaar having published her second novel, Reflections in a Golden Eye, written in two months. She and Davis ultimately hunted down the Middagh Street property. It was not move-in ready, but they moved in anyway and set about attracting other tenants to help pay for renovations and rent.
British expatriates W. H. Auden and Christopher Isherwood were looking for affordable accommodation and moved in, although Isherwood soon decided to try his chances at work in Hollywood. Jane and Paul Bowles, the writing couple, were tenants, as were Erika, Klaus, and Golo Mann, three of Thomas Mann’s children; the whole family had fled from pre-war Germany. In fact, Erika married W.H. Auden in a union of convenience to provide her with British citizenship. Auden was as openly gay as Erika was lesbian, and they remained great friends for quite some time. Benjamin Britten, the British composer, completed a prolific amount of work at February House, working simultaneously on multiple deadline-driven musical projects, several of them in partnership with Auden and Peter Pears, an accomplished tenor, who performed many of Britten’s compositions. Even the Dalis, Salvador and Gala, resided at February House for a while.
Probably the most well-known tenant at the time was Gypsy Rose Lee, the burlesque performer, whose aspiration to be a writer resulted in two novels, one written mostly at February House called The G-String Murders. George Davis was her patient editor and mentor. Lee’s burlesque act was slightly different to more traditional striptease performers; hers was as much “tease” as it was “strip.”
Many February House tenants would live there intermittently, coming and going as circumstance dictated. McCullers, for example, had poor health and would go home periodically for motherly nursing, and then return to February House when recovered. With its proximity to the docks, the house was also a popular drop-in venue for may sailors who had befriended tenants. Davis, also homosexual, was a very tolerant landlord and wore hats of reliable friend, mentor, editor, and domestic accountant for many tenants.
Author Sherill Tippins does an outstanding job with a fast-paced narrative of a large number of unique, deeply interesting, magically talented, and often tragically flawed people. Readers are treated to abbreviated yet entertaining, fulsome biographies of all the tenants at February House, and many others besides. For those who only know these larger-than-life figures from their legacies, Tippins perfectly captures the contemporary ordinariness of their existence in this cauldron of brimming creativity—their successes and failures, and the sheer hard work of their lives.
At the same time, Tippins does not shortchange the significance of the times. America was dithering back-and-forth on whether or not to enter the war, until the infamous attack by the Japanese on Pearl Harbor unequivocally decided it for the country. The British expatriates living in America wrestled with ongoing conflict about remaining or fulfilling the patriotic responsibility to return home and join the fight. Of course, February House had a beginning and an ending, and Tippins does a tidy job of tying up loose ends. This is a fabulously original book guaranteed to satisfy!
It started as the brainchild of George Davis, a gifted and flamboyant editor at Harper’s Bazaar Magazine. Fluent in French, having spent many years in Paris amongst numerous expatriate writers and artists, Davis was exposed to the concept of a salon, an informal gathering place for artistic and literary intelligentsia—and he thought it would be fascinating to have one in Brooklyn Heights! He did just that after being fired from Harper’s Bazaar.
Davis was already friendly with 24-year-old Carson McCullers, Harper’s Bazaar having published her second novel, Reflections in a Golden Eye, written in two months. She and Davis ultimately hunted down the Middagh Street property. It was not move-in ready, but they moved in anyway and set about attracting other tenants to help pay for renovations and rent.
British expatriates W. H. Auden and Christopher Isherwood were looking for affordable accommodation and moved in, although Isherwood soon decided to try his chances at work in Hollywood. Jane and Paul Bowles, the writing couple, were tenants, as were Erika, Klaus, and Golo Mann, three of Thomas Mann’s children; the whole family had fled from pre-war Germany. In fact, Erika married W.H. Auden in a union of convenience to provide her with British citizenship. Auden was as openly gay as Erika was lesbian, and they remained great friends for quite some time. Benjamin Britten, the British composer, completed a prolific amount of work at February House, working simultaneously on multiple deadline-driven musical projects, several of them in partnership with Auden and Peter Pears, an accomplished tenor, who performed many of Britten’s compositions. Even the Dalis, Salvador and Gala, resided at February House for a while.
Probably the most well-known tenant at the time was Gypsy Rose Lee, the burlesque performer, whose aspiration to be a writer resulted in two novels, one written mostly at February House called The G-String Murders. George Davis was her patient editor and mentor. Lee’s burlesque act was slightly different to more traditional striptease performers; hers was as much “tease” as it was “strip.”
Many February House tenants would live there intermittently, coming and going as circumstance dictated. McCullers, for example, had poor health and would go home periodically for motherly nursing, and then return to February House when recovered. With its proximity to the docks, the house was also a popular drop-in venue for may sailors who had befriended tenants. Davis, also homosexual, was a very tolerant landlord and wore hats of reliable friend, mentor, editor, and domestic accountant for many tenants.
Author Sherill Tippins does an outstanding job with a fast-paced narrative of a large number of unique, deeply interesting, magically talented, and often tragically flawed people. Readers are treated to abbreviated yet entertaining, fulsome biographies of all the tenants at February House, and many others besides. For those who only know these larger-than-life figures from their legacies, Tippins perfectly captures the contemporary ordinariness of their existence in this cauldron of brimming creativity—their successes and failures, and the sheer hard work of their lives.
At the same time, Tippins does not shortchange the significance of the times. America was dithering back-and-forth on whether or not to enter the war, until the infamous attack by the Japanese on Pearl Harbor unequivocally decided it for the country. The British expatriates living in America wrestled with ongoing conflict about remaining or fulfilling the patriotic responsibility to return home and join the fight. Of course, February House had a beginning and an ending, and Tippins does a tidy job of tying up loose ends. This is a fabulously original book guaranteed to satisfy!
April 18, 2019
In 1940, Harper's Bazaar fiction editor George Davis finally pushed his frivolous gay luck and lost his job. He needed a new place to live. George saw what would become that place in a dream. ~a recurring dream of a house enveloped in what looked like Brooklyn Heights. Finally, he went off in search of it, beginning with the general area... until there it was, as foretold: the house itself. ~a house that very quickly became a place that anyone-who-was-anyone wanted to (at least visit or party at if not) live in.
A sort of precursor to Auntie Mame's penthouse... while being a bit more like a Chinese opium den (without the opium... but with similar stimulants).
The idea for the house that George had early on was a sound and practical one: to gather together a small group of like-minded artists who could inspire each other as they shared expenses. Ultimately, this worked surprisingly well. ~for awhile. Thus, with this book we get what starts out as an almost-heartwarming tale of admirable camaraderie, as Davis is joined by W.H. Auden (who eventually became housemaster - closer to 'Mother'), Carson McCullers, Benjamin Britten (and his partner Peter Pears) and (for added spice) Gypsy Rose Lee... all ready to cohabitate for the sake of friendship, art / literature and economy.
This bohemian ideal soon enough turns to being much more bohemian than ideal as the best of intentions give considerable way to wild abandon. Sherill Tippins' wonderfully affectionate book detailing this 'experiment' simply overflows with names of the famous (i.e., Christopher Isherwood, Einstein, Kirstein, way too many to mention) and infamous (i.e., Salvador Dali) who wafted in and out of the lives of the home's core group.
It all reads like one long party after another - with the effervescence (mixed by turns with serious writing or composing) eventually helping all involved forget or ignore reality when the US is pressured into entering WWII. Tippins gives just enough focus on the war to highlight its effect on those (whether Americans, Brits or refugees) residing in or passing through February House.
It's no surprise that this experiment had a shelf life with an expiration date invisibly set from the get-go. It's not like a group this talented could or should stay together forever. It seems the bond was kept until its purpose was more than served. Once the initial group's members began to disband individually, others continued to move in. But the inceptive spark was gone. What came to George in a dream was only for a relatively fixed few.
In telling the house's tale, Tippins reveals limitless compassion - as well as an artfulness in the way she blends (like the insides of a lava lamp) the artistic accomplishments achieved in an overlap of unique bursts of energy. Tippins clearly loves the people she wrote about, enough to want to present each of them without prejudice - but warts and all.
As a result, the book Tippins gives us is heartfelt, engaging and breezy. It's also, of course (because of its subjects) occasionally agonizing while being nevertheless deeply human.
A sort of precursor to Auntie Mame's penthouse... while being a bit more like a Chinese opium den (without the opium... but with similar stimulants).
The idea for the house that George had early on was a sound and practical one: to gather together a small group of like-minded artists who could inspire each other as they shared expenses. Ultimately, this worked surprisingly well. ~for awhile. Thus, with this book we get what starts out as an almost-heartwarming tale of admirable camaraderie, as Davis is joined by W.H. Auden (who eventually became housemaster - closer to 'Mother'), Carson McCullers, Benjamin Britten (and his partner Peter Pears) and (for added spice) Gypsy Rose Lee... all ready to cohabitate for the sake of friendship, art / literature and economy.
This bohemian ideal soon enough turns to being much more bohemian than ideal as the best of intentions give considerable way to wild abandon. Sherill Tippins' wonderfully affectionate book detailing this 'experiment' simply overflows with names of the famous (i.e., Christopher Isherwood, Einstein, Kirstein, way too many to mention) and infamous (i.e., Salvador Dali) who wafted in and out of the lives of the home's core group.
It all reads like one long party after another - with the effervescence (mixed by turns with serious writing or composing) eventually helping all involved forget or ignore reality when the US is pressured into entering WWII. Tippins gives just enough focus on the war to highlight its effect on those (whether Americans, Brits or refugees) residing in or passing through February House.
It's no surprise that this experiment had a shelf life with an expiration date invisibly set from the get-go. It's not like a group this talented could or should stay together forever. It seems the bond was kept until its purpose was more than served. Once the initial group's members began to disband individually, others continued to move in. But the inceptive spark was gone. What came to George in a dream was only for a relatively fixed few.
In telling the house's tale, Tippins reveals limitless compassion - as well as an artfulness in the way she blends (like the insides of a lava lamp) the artistic accomplishments achieved in an overlap of unique bursts of energy. Tippins clearly loves the people she wrote about, enough to want to present each of them without prejudice - but warts and all.
As a result, the book Tippins gives us is heartfelt, engaging and breezy. It's also, of course (because of its subjects) occasionally agonizing while being nevertheless deeply human.
October 13, 2025
someone let me live in a Brooklyn artists commune please
January 23, 2008
In my poetry class in college, somebody mentioned this book, and I remember thinking, golly, if only I could remember what book they were talking about so that I could read it, la la la, I'll never find it again. Lo and behold, five minutes on amazon and I've located the book, and then I checked it out from the library. It's almost too easy, no?
I've been frequenting biographies lately, not heavy ones like of LBJ or something, but lighter ones, of Bobby Darrin and people like that - this was like the best of biographies with none of the garbage. I read about Paul Bowles, and Gypsy Rose Lee, and Carson McCullers, and Wystan Auden, and all sorts of tangential famouses without having to hear every bloviating detail of their upbringing or muse for hours and hours about their inner struggles. It was like a sampler pack of 1940s American arts culture, and I loved that about it. I also love the idea of a bunch of Bohemian artists living together, Melrose Place-style, and then Auden making sure everybody pays their bill and gets some creative work done. Tons of charming anecdotes and amusing quotes included.
I did find Auden's struggle with whether or not he should go fight in the war or not as a bit boring, and I also don't really want to read about his religious conversions and philosophical musings on the artist's job; aren't poets tedious? I would also like a bit more of a follow-up on everybody, such as telling me more about what the hell happened to Jane Bowles, and basically more Gypsy Rose Lee on every page, she's fabulous.
I've been frequenting biographies lately, not heavy ones like of LBJ or something, but lighter ones, of Bobby Darrin and people like that - this was like the best of biographies with none of the garbage. I read about Paul Bowles, and Gypsy Rose Lee, and Carson McCullers, and Wystan Auden, and all sorts of tangential famouses without having to hear every bloviating detail of their upbringing or muse for hours and hours about their inner struggles. It was like a sampler pack of 1940s American arts culture, and I loved that about it. I also love the idea of a bunch of Bohemian artists living together, Melrose Place-style, and then Auden making sure everybody pays their bill and gets some creative work done. Tons of charming anecdotes and amusing quotes included.
I did find Auden's struggle with whether or not he should go fight in the war or not as a bit boring, and I also don't really want to read about his religious conversions and philosophical musings on the artist's job; aren't poets tedious? I would also like a bit more of a follow-up on everybody, such as telling me more about what the hell happened to Jane Bowles, and basically more Gypsy Rose Lee on every page, she's fabulous.
August 7, 2013
This was a very engaging read. I read the book in two days. Having recently lost my parents I find this period in history so interesting. In 1941 while America was on the brink of involvement in WW2 my mom was 14 and my dad 17. Though this book takes place far from the midwest farmland upbringing of my parents, it is still the period of time and country they lived in and fought for in the coming years. I find it so fascinating to understand the cultural voices of the time, the artists on the edge that were my grandparents ages and younger.
During this time a disparate group of iconic writers, artists and a burlesque performer took part in an experiment in communal living at 7 Middagh Street in Brooklyn NY. Sharing an urgency to take action as artists during these turbulent times many of these artists created some of their most renowned works while living at February House. Essentially modeled after the Paris salons of the 20's this creative crucible included W. H. Auden, Carson McCullers, Jane and Paul Bowles, Benjamin Britten, Gypsy Rose Lee and Salvador Dali. Stunning personalities and minds.
During this time a disparate group of iconic writers, artists and a burlesque performer took part in an experiment in communal living at 7 Middagh Street in Brooklyn NY. Sharing an urgency to take action as artists during these turbulent times many of these artists created some of their most renowned works while living at February House. Essentially modeled after the Paris salons of the 20's this creative crucible included W. H. Auden, Carson McCullers, Jane and Paul Bowles, Benjamin Britten, Gypsy Rose Lee and Salvador Dali. Stunning personalities and minds.
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November 4, 2011Really interesting, with little mini bios of all the people, and great images like Carson and Gypsy running through the streets of Brooklyn chasing a fire engine in the middle of the night, holding hands. As they're running, Carson gets the image that helps her pull The Member of the Wedding together.
Also a lot of stuff about expat Brits trying to figure out what, as artists, they should do about the war, and attitudes about them in the UK.
I've read a biography of McCullers, and Gypsy's memoir, but know almost nothing about Auden except that he was a gay poet, and there's a lot about his philosophical brooding about war, his romance with Chester Kallman, and other fascinating stuff. Ditto Paul and Jane Bowles, and now I'd like to find out more about them and read Two Serious Ladies.
Also a lot of stuff about expat Brits trying to figure out what, as artists, they should do about the war, and attitudes about them in the UK.
I've read a biography of McCullers, and Gypsy's memoir, but know almost nothing about Auden except that he was a gay poet, and there's a lot about his philosophical brooding about war, his romance with Chester Kallman, and other fascinating stuff. Ditto Paul and Jane Bowles, and now I'd like to find out more about them and read Two Serious Ladies.
March 13, 2019
just had to read this - Auden living in same house as McCullers et al -
and I have always believed in the power of groups -
and I have always believed in the power of groups -
February 18, 2020
Okay, first of all, how could I never have heard about this house with all of these people living in it? And the fact that my Mom was living in Brooklyn at the same time (before she married my Dad). So, that was enough to get me to read it, thinking it would just be a gossipy tell all book. Well, it sort of is that, because the author went through the letters and diaries and biographies and autobiographies of the people who lived or visited #7 Middagh Avenue, so it's almost a day to day accounting of what went on (I love that in the Benjamin Britten archives, there's a weekly bill created by W.H. Auden for his share of the house expenses). But more importantly, there is a lot of talk about the creative process that these authors and composers were going through - it makes me want read all of their books and listen to all of their music again. Fascinating read. Oh, and how did I find it? I was looking for a copy of Gypsy Rose Lee's murder mystery "The G-String Murders" (which I'll be getting from the library soon) and the library thought I might be interested in this book - they were right.
July 14, 2014
A fascinating and well-researched book. I read half in mid-July then got side-tracked with some other books and projects. Read the second half in the past few days. Some might be put off by the level of detail of Tippins' writing, but she's very thorough and the whole thing reads rather like a scenario for some irresistible "reality television" program, starring an amazing cast of young, talented intellectuals, writers, composers, and artists.
Who knew that the beloved Burlesque stripper Gypsy Rose Lee ever shared a house in Brooklyn with W.H. Auden, Carson McCullers, and Benjamin Britten among others? Time-wise the story revolves around the pivotal year of 1940 to 1941 when the lives of these creative people came together for a short but productive and significant period for all those involved. It also corresponds to the time just before the US would enter World War Two.
Who knew that the beloved Burlesque stripper Gypsy Rose Lee ever shared a house in Brooklyn with W.H. Auden, Carson McCullers, and Benjamin Britten among others? Time-wise the story revolves around the pivotal year of 1940 to 1941 when the lives of these creative people came together for a short but productive and significant period for all those involved. It also corresponds to the time just before the US would enter World War Two.
September 26, 2007
Quirky and fun - just like me!
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November 6, 2010Highly recommend this one! Unbelievable true tale of an unlikely group of housemates. Great to read of such sterling personages when they were young, poor and crazy.
January 24, 2013
Following Gypsy Rose Lee and Carson McCullers' time at FH was the most interesting part for me. There were many other people I wasn't that familiar with.
July 23, 2009
Fascinating sense of place of a literary community just before and during WWII. I loved this bok.
July 26, 2024
Tippins' book, February House looks at the history of a house at 7 Middagh Street in Brooklyn that became for a short time a meeting place & home for W.H. Auden, Carson McCullers, Jane & Paul Bowles, Benjamin Britten, Gypsy Rose Lee & others. Orchestrated by the editor & author George Davis, Tippin brings to life the place & the diverse group of people who called it home & created some of their most important works while in residence. The book is written in manner that allows the reader to become in part another residence in the house immersed in the often chaotic yet creative world that unfolded.
So many try to say Not Now
So many have forgotten how
To say I Am, and would be
Lost if they could in history
W.H. Auden, ‘Another Time’, 1939. xi
Carson herself had expressed it in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter: ‘All of us here know what its is to suffer for real need. That is a great injustice. But there is one injustice bitterer even than that-to be denied the right to work according to one’s ability. To labor a lifetime uselessly. To be denied the chance to serve. It is far better for the profits of our purse to be taken from us than to be robbed of the riches of our minds and souls.’ 32
…Auden and Isherwood had developed strong opinions about their adopted home. ‘The Americans want everything canned,’ Isherwood wrote to his mother. ‘They want digests of books, selections of music, bits of plays. Their interest is hard to hold for long. No great reputation is safe. Everybody is constantly being reconsidered. This is partly good, of course. But there is a lot of cruelty in the public’s attitude to has-beens.’ 49
…Isherwood’s views when responding, ‘The trouble about violence is that most of the punishment falls on the innocent. That is why, even if you imagine you are fighting for the noblest of ends, the knowledge that it is more your children than yourself who will have to pay for your violence…should make you hesitate.’ 54
Moreover, he [Auden] was struck by the utter loneliness of American literature. Emerson, Hawthorne, Melville, James-American literature was ‘one extraordinary literature of lonely people.’ 73
…Auden had been intrigued by a reference in Kierkegaard’s Journal to ‘three stages of experience’ through which most men pass. He recognized the first, aesthetic stage, in which the individuals lives for the joys of each passing moment….The second, ethical stage, in which the individuals becomes aware of social inequities and involves himself in public issues and politics…the third…the individual understands that the inherent good of mankind is a false concept, that no matter what actions one takes, good many not come as a result…100-101
Every day America’s destroyed and created
America is what you do
America is I and you
America is what we choose to make it
W.H. Auden, Paul Bunyan, 1939-1941. 115
For years, Kallman and his friend Harold Norse had regularly cruised Central Park. ‘We rarely, if ever, went home alone,’ wrote Norse. ‘There was an endless parade of youth in the city, some as young as fourteen and fifteen…refugees from the Depression or from Nazi oppression. They were castaways, throwaways, runaways. Auden used to say, ‘Sex is no problem. There are boys on every street corner.’ This was true.’ 150
…Auden was likely to be entertaining Eva with excerpts from his Harper’s Bazaar piece on the greatest last words ever spoken. His favourite was the remark made by the female impersonator Bert Savoy, who, noting an approaching thunderstorm on Long Beach, quipped, ‘There’s Miss God at it again’-and was instantly struck by lightning….185
…Gertrude Stein’s remark, made years earlier in Paris, that Paul Bowles was ‘delightful and sensible in summer, but neither delightful nor sensible in winter.’ 194
Auden…’Charlie, it’s amazing that no one has really written about the true America, the land of the lonely!’ he said to his housemate. ‘The land of eccentrics and outcast loneliness. ‘The Lonelies’ could be the title of a grand unwritten American novel. I’ve been told of a likely hero, the homosexual ‘queen’ of Niles, Michigan, you know? Each evening when the New York-Chicago train pauses there to put off a passenger or so, this lonely queen meets the train, hoping to encounter one of his own kind. By profession, he’s an accountant, but actually he’s a loner who solicits traveling salesmen. His stand-by source of sex is high school football players who are coached not to ‘do anything with women.’
…’Imagine it, Charlie. Imagines such a scene being repeated daily in hundreds of dismal little American towns!’ He sighed heavily. ‘America is one of the loneliest places on this planet. And my friend George Davis ought to write a novel about it…’ 24
So many try to say Not Now
So many have forgotten how
To say I Am, and would be
Lost if they could in history
W.H. Auden, ‘Another Time’, 1939. xi
Carson herself had expressed it in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter: ‘All of us here know what its is to suffer for real need. That is a great injustice. But there is one injustice bitterer even than that-to be denied the right to work according to one’s ability. To labor a lifetime uselessly. To be denied the chance to serve. It is far better for the profits of our purse to be taken from us than to be robbed of the riches of our minds and souls.’ 32
…Auden and Isherwood had developed strong opinions about their adopted home. ‘The Americans want everything canned,’ Isherwood wrote to his mother. ‘They want digests of books, selections of music, bits of plays. Their interest is hard to hold for long. No great reputation is safe. Everybody is constantly being reconsidered. This is partly good, of course. But there is a lot of cruelty in the public’s attitude to has-beens.’ 49
…Isherwood’s views when responding, ‘The trouble about violence is that most of the punishment falls on the innocent. That is why, even if you imagine you are fighting for the noblest of ends, the knowledge that it is more your children than yourself who will have to pay for your violence…should make you hesitate.’ 54
Moreover, he [Auden] was struck by the utter loneliness of American literature. Emerson, Hawthorne, Melville, James-American literature was ‘one extraordinary literature of lonely people.’ 73
…Auden had been intrigued by a reference in Kierkegaard’s Journal to ‘three stages of experience’ through which most men pass. He recognized the first, aesthetic stage, in which the individuals lives for the joys of each passing moment….The second, ethical stage, in which the individuals becomes aware of social inequities and involves himself in public issues and politics…the third…the individual understands that the inherent good of mankind is a false concept, that no matter what actions one takes, good many not come as a result…100-101
Every day America’s destroyed and created
America is what you do
America is I and you
America is what we choose to make it
W.H. Auden, Paul Bunyan, 1939-1941. 115
For years, Kallman and his friend Harold Norse had regularly cruised Central Park. ‘We rarely, if ever, went home alone,’ wrote Norse. ‘There was an endless parade of youth in the city, some as young as fourteen and fifteen…refugees from the Depression or from Nazi oppression. They were castaways, throwaways, runaways. Auden used to say, ‘Sex is no problem. There are boys on every street corner.’ This was true.’ 150
…Auden was likely to be entertaining Eva with excerpts from his Harper’s Bazaar piece on the greatest last words ever spoken. His favourite was the remark made by the female impersonator Bert Savoy, who, noting an approaching thunderstorm on Long Beach, quipped, ‘There’s Miss God at it again’-and was instantly struck by lightning….185
…Gertrude Stein’s remark, made years earlier in Paris, that Paul Bowles was ‘delightful and sensible in summer, but neither delightful nor sensible in winter.’ 194
Auden…’Charlie, it’s amazing that no one has really written about the true America, the land of the lonely!’ he said to his housemate. ‘The land of eccentrics and outcast loneliness. ‘The Lonelies’ could be the title of a grand unwritten American novel. I’ve been told of a likely hero, the homosexual ‘queen’ of Niles, Michigan, you know? Each evening when the New York-Chicago train pauses there to put off a passenger or so, this lonely queen meets the train, hoping to encounter one of his own kind. By profession, he’s an accountant, but actually he’s a loner who solicits traveling salesmen. His stand-by source of sex is high school football players who are coached not to ‘do anything with women.’
…’Imagine it, Charlie. Imagines such a scene being repeated daily in hundreds of dismal little American towns!’ He sighed heavily. ‘America is one of the loneliest places on this planet. And my friend George Davis ought to write a novel about it…’ 24
July 12, 2025
This should have been a fascinating and fun read, but somehow despite the cast of interesting characters, this book was too often tedious. Part of the problem is that it lacks focus; there is a group of literary and artistic stars and hey get varying amounts of attention, but the story, for me at least, had no shape and just meandered. It also manages to make just about every character unlikable.
A central problem here is the book descends too often into philosophical reflection and/or Auden's poetry, rather than focusing on action. Too much of the story takes place inside people's heads, and not much really happens aside from a lot of parties and slovenly housekeeping. In addition, Auden, who is the most inward and least interesting of the characters, gets altogether too much attention.
There is, though, some relevance in the context in which the story unfolds. It is at the onset of World War II and the question as the book progresses relates to whether the US should support the fight against Nazi Germany. To me, this relates t our current political situation where I wonder if the Federal Government will become able to take a higher moral path (e.g. concerning Ukraine but also in other areas, including domestic ones).
In summation, I was really looking forward to reading this, both because the writers and others covered in the stories have long interested me and because my mother and grandfather came from Brooklyn. I ended up a bit bored and decidedly disappointed.
A central problem here is the book descends too often into philosophical reflection and/or Auden's poetry, rather than focusing on action. Too much of the story takes place inside people's heads, and not much really happens aside from a lot of parties and slovenly housekeeping. In addition, Auden, who is the most inward and least interesting of the characters, gets altogether too much attention.
There is, though, some relevance in the context in which the story unfolds. It is at the onset of World War II and the question as the book progresses relates to whether the US should support the fight against Nazi Germany. To me, this relates t our current political situation where I wonder if the Federal Government will become able to take a higher moral path (e.g. concerning Ukraine but also in other areas, including domestic ones).
In summation, I was really looking forward to reading this, both because the writers and others covered in the stories have long interested me and because my mother and grandfather came from Brooklyn. I ended up a bit bored and decidedly disappointed.
September 15, 2020
In the winter of 1940-41, W.H. Auden, Carson McCullers, Benjamin Britten, Peter Pears, Paul and Jane Bowles, Salvador Dalí, Richard Wright and – wait for it – Gypsy Rose Lee lived communally (in various combinations) in a house about a hundred yards away from the Brooklyn Bridge. That’s an insane premise for a novel, but this isn’t a novel: it really happened. In addition to the residents, visitors included people like Anaïs Nin, Christopher Ishwerwood, Louis Macniece, Leonard Bernstein and many, many more.
That alone would make this book worth reading for me, whether or not it was any good. So when I finally got round to reading it and discovered that it was beautifully written I was doubly delighted. I am a sucker for this era, but even if I only knew of some of these people I’d still have been entranced.
The danger with a book like this is that it can become nothing more than a list of dates noting arrivals, departures and significant world events (like, um, the war). The author deftly avoided this trap by interesting us in the lives, motivations, relationships and foibles of the various residents, all cemented together by the personality of George Davis, who brought them all together. The result is a truly engaging tale of a remarkable time and a reminder that even the famous need to find a way to put bread on the table.
That alone would make this book worth reading for me, whether or not it was any good. So when I finally got round to reading it and discovered that it was beautifully written I was doubly delighted. I am a sucker for this era, but even if I only knew of some of these people I’d still have been entranced.
The danger with a book like this is that it can become nothing more than a list of dates noting arrivals, departures and significant world events (like, um, the war). The author deftly avoided this trap by interesting us in the lives, motivations, relationships and foibles of the various residents, all cemented together by the personality of George Davis, who brought them all together. The result is a truly engaging tale of a remarkable time and a reminder that even the famous need to find a way to put bread on the table.
November 8, 2023
This is such an entertaining read, about real-life, but rather unlikely, housemates sharing an enormous home in Brooklyn during the late 30s & early 40s. For the most part, it worked out really well for all of them, particularly after W. H. Auden moved in & began to impose a little order on the previously chaotic proceedings. I had read Paul Bowles but none of the other authors; I have no interest in the music of Benjamin Britten (Bowles was also a composer); & was only aware of Gypsy Rose as stripper, when she was a whole lot more. The one I fell in love with was Carson McCullers, even thought I have never read any of her books either. That will be remedied forthwith as the insights into the creation of her work were fascinating. So, you don't need to be fans of any of these creative types to get plenty out of this breezily written slice of literary & musical history.
P.S. I was aware of Auden's status as the greatest poet of his generation & Tippins quotes his works at considerable length, but I couldn't see anything particularly perceptive or memorable in any of them.
P.S. I was aware of Auden's status as the greatest poet of his generation & Tippins quotes his works at considerable length, but I couldn't see anything particularly perceptive or memorable in any of them.
March 17, 2019
On the brink of America's joining World War II, a group of artists decided to rent a house in Brooklyn Heights where they could work on their various creative projects. W. H. Auden, Carson McCullers, and editor George Davis rent the house, eventually inviting Gypsy Rose Lee, Benjamin Britten, Paul Bowles, and others to join the household.
I enjoyed the parts about the actual running of the house (W. H. Auden, drawing on his boarding school experiences, manages the household and collects rent) and the routines of the various inhabitants (Gypsy Rose Lee got up early to work on the mystery novel she was writing). The parts where Auden and other British expats pondered whether they should return home and take part in the war were a bit tedious, as were the descriptions of Auden's and Britten's collaborations on an opera. Still, an interesting book for people who've ever contemplated starting an artist colony with friends.
I enjoyed the parts about the actual running of the house (W. H. Auden, drawing on his boarding school experiences, manages the household and collects rent) and the routines of the various inhabitants (Gypsy Rose Lee got up early to work on the mystery novel she was writing). The parts where Auden and other British expats pondered whether they should return home and take part in the war were a bit tedious, as were the descriptions of Auden's and Britten's collaborations on an opera. Still, an interesting book for people who've ever contemplated starting an artist colony with friends.
September 10, 2020
I thoroughly enjoyed what felt like a front row seat to a entirely intense and productive moment in the creative lives of some of the most important figures in 20th century writing and music on the cusp of World War II. Carson McCullers, WH Auden, Benjamin Britten, Gypsy Rose Lee are front row but there are also others who make an appearance in the life of 7 Middagh St, Brooklyn Heights. George Davis, editor, agent, writer, organized the communal house, and although I wasn’t familiar with his name before, I came to see it was entirely his creation.But then it took off, and soon, everyone who was anyone in the creative life wanted a piece of life at 7 Middagh St. Two of my favorite works were inspired or written there- W H Auden’s Musee de Beaux Arte, 1940, and Carson McCullers’ seeing a couple in a bar who inspired her Ballad of a Sad Cafe, which I saw on Broadway with Colleen Dewhurst in the lead role in 1964 or 65.
March 5, 2019
In 1939, magazine editor George Davis had the idea of renting a house near the docks in New York, and turning it into a colony for artists, including British ex-pats. For the next few years, many major names in music and literature would pass through: W.H. Auden, Christopher Isherwood, Carson McCullers, Paul and Jane Bowles, Janet Flanner, and celebrated striptease artiste, Gypsy Rose Lee. This book recounts the triumphs and tragedies, the ups and downs of some of the biggest names of the time, and their struggles with each other, their various arts, the often-critical media, drugs, alcohol, and the approaching war. A fascinaint portrait of people and a particular time in the history of art.
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