Gertrude Stein Has Arrived: The Homecoming of a Literary Legend

by Roy Morris Jr.

In 1933, experimental writer and longtime expatriate Gertrude Stein skyrocketed to overnight fame with the publication of an unlikely best seller, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas. Pantomiming the voice of her partner Alice, The Autobiography was actually Gertrude's work. But whoever the real author was, the uncharacteristically lucid and readable book won over the hearts of thousands of Americans, whose clamor to meet Gertrude and Alice in person convinced them to return to America for the first time in thirty years from their self-imposed exile in France.

For more than six months, Gertrude and Alice crisscrossed America, from New England to California, from Minnesota to Texas, stopping at thirty-seven different cities along the way. They had tea with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, attended a star-studded dinner party at Charlie Chaplin's home in Beverly Hills, enjoyed fifty-yard-line seats at the annual Yale-Dartmouth football game, and rode along with a homicide detective through the streets of Chicago. They met with the Raven Society in Edgar Allan Poe's old room at the University of Virginia, toured notable Civil War battlefields, and ate Oysters Rockefeller for the first time at Antoine's Restaurant in New Orleans. Everywhere they went, they were treated like everyone's favorite maiden aunts—colorful, eccentric, and eminently quotable.

In Gertrude Stein Has Arrived, noted literary biographer Roy Morris Jr. recounts with characteristic energy and wit the couple's rollicking tour, revealing how—much to their surprise—they rediscovered their American roots after three decades of living abroad. Entertaining and sympathetic, this clear-eyed account captures Gertrude Stein for the larger-than-life legend she was and shows the unique relationship she had with her indefatigable companion, Alice B. Toklas—the true power behind the throne.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography, Poetry, France, Art, Biography Memoir

264 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 10, 2019

Reviews

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm between 3 and 4 stars here, assigning a higher rating on the strength of the first three chapters and the epilogue.

I have a fascination with the expatriate coterie of writers and artists in Paris in the 1920s. I don't necessarily care for some of the works they produced, but I'm drawn to the lives they were able to scratch out for themselves with limited funds. A sparsely furnished flat in Paris with peppercorn rent, a fresh baguette and coffee for breakfast, effortful work, and an occasional summons to gather at Gertrude Stein's salon at 27 Rue de Fleurus... Sounds like a grand adventure, non?
I'm well aware that the titillating stories are largely myth, contorted and burnished by biggies like Stein and Hemingway to make themselves appear more interesting and influential. But indulge me. Let me have my fantasy. My Paris envy, if you will.

Given the above revelation, it makes sense that the first 94 pages were the most appealing part of the book for me. We get a brief and lively overview of the early lives of Gertrude and her partner Alice Toklas, and how they ended up in France and became a couple. There's coverage of their Paris salon where they entertained aspiring écrivains and peintres, as well as their summers in Bilignin and their service with the ambulance during World War I.

The next 110 pages were considerably less captivating for me. This is the section for which the book is named. Gertrude and Alice return to America after 30 years abroad. They embark on a seven-month-long lecture tour (37 cities in 23 states) sparked by the great success of Gertrude's book The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas.

The narrative becomes more pedestrian, with a schedule of lectures and discussion groups and encounters with people we (or at least I) have never heard of. But there are occasional juicy nuggets involving colorful characters, just enough to keep you hooked. One such character is Maude Hutchins, the wife of a university president. She caused quite a scandal by sending out Christmas cards with a nude drawing of her 14-year-old daughter on the front!

The epilogue is a short but fascinating account of what happened after they returned to France, and how they survived World War II. (Quite a feat for a couple of lesbian Jews, but their French neighbors looked out for them.) I did wonder while reading this book why Alice Toklas wasn't out there shakin' the sugar tree to find a less demanding partner, but they were apparently well matched and remained together for life.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I tend to be interested in biographies of artists and writers of the early parts of the last century, so even though I’ve never managed to read one of her poems I requested this book. I may now attempt to read The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas (written by Stein, not her life partner Toklas, she of the infamous brownies), after finding out that it’s a lot more readable than her earlier works. The fact that she was a self-declared genius seems, well, scary, but people really did find her talks and advice brilliant and interesting.

Although both were from the Bay Area, Stein and Toklas left America and lived in France- which was more welcoming to lesbian couples- for most of their lives. Here she collected art, wrote, and held salons for writers and artists. Many came to her for advice about their art or writing. It was when Stein published The Autobiography that she suddenly became known in America, and was asked to come over for a speaking tour. For over six months the duo went all over the US, to 37 cities. They had tea with Eleanor Roosevelt, met Charlie Chaplain and Mary Pickford (who wasn’t impressed with her), had a ride-along in a police car with a homicide detective, met with the Raven Society in Edger Allen Poe’s old room, visited several Civil War battlefields, had their first airplane ride, had Oysters Rockefeller in New Orleans- suddenly everyone loved this couple. She gave both literary and social issue speeches. The title comes from the “Gertrude Stein Has Arrived” message that was put on the New York Times reader sign.

If you know nothing about Stein, this is a great little biography. They don’t leave France until halfway through the book, so we get a good picture of their lives pre-lecture tour. Then we find out the things that she and Toklas saw, and the things that they said, while in the US. Stein came away with new admiration for the country she had so long disdained, stating that she was in love with the US now. I found the book a very interesting and fairly quick read; it’s full of celebrities like Scott Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and even Walter Cronkite interviewing her while in college! Five stars.

[Sarah W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gertrude Stein lived and wrote during the first half of the twentieth century - a fascinating period - and I've long wanted to read more about her life and perhaps even her writing (through I suspect I'd be among the many who simply don't understand it). This book covers her entire life, although the focus is on her 1930s literary tour of the United States. It makes for a fascinating read, as Gertrude Stein manages to encounter so many important and interesting people, while also enjoying her own taste of fame. I loved the characterization of her relationship with Alice Toklas and the way the couple managed to both be together and also not explain their relationship in an less accepting era. Overall, this book left me wanting to learn more about Gertrude Stein and I would recommend it to anyone interested in this time period.

[sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

the first half seemed an almost recap of stein's Autobiography, so i was happily delighted by the second half of pretty new information. I read what is remembered too long ago to...well...remember toklas's narration of their travels.

in short: not entirely riveting. but right up my alley.

[Lisa S · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun and interesting book - Gertrude Stein was quite a character!

[L.A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am slightly ashamed to admit that I knew nothing of the "infamous" Gertrude Stein prior to reading Gertrude Stein Has Arrived: The Homecoming of a Literary Legend by Roy Morris Jr. I have been fascinated by her larger than life persona, and that of her lifelong partner, Alice Toklas, ever since. And by all accounts, both her own and backed by others who knew her personally, Gertrude Stein was quite the presence. Although her writing style is a bit difficult to follow at times, especially for someone who values the use of punctuation, Morris Jr. has managed to combine Steins own words with those who knew her (she knew a surprising number of literary greats, among others) to tell part of her story, a small glimpse into her life so to speak – one of love, the constraints (and liberties) of her time, and the ever working mind of a writer, one who also happened to unabashedly profess her own brilliance. And tucked into all of that, you find the woman holding up Gertrude Stein, and wish you had the opportunity to meet them both. This book is a must read!!

Many thanks to John Hopkins University Press for the ARC print edition of this book.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very excited to read this book about Stein & Toklas's visit to the U.S. in 1934-35, but was startled by a couple of careless errors in the first part of the book, before their trip began. Considering this was published by one of the better university presses, it was disappointing (more because it made me wonder about the accuracy of what was to come than because of the errors themselves, one of which hardly mattered, but the other one was startling in that the correct information had already been mentioned in the text). But I was not going to let that stop me, as I really wanted to learn more about the trip. I just took everything with a grain of salt, and that just made it more fun to read, as I didn't worry about whether any of it was true or not. Even so, I am now curious to read this author's other books, as he seems to choose interesting subjects (Ambrose Bierce, Oscar Wilde, Mark Twain).

[Jeanette (Ms. Feisty) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Andrea Engle · Rating 4 out of 5]

With the unexpected success of her book, “The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas,” the self-proclaimed genius Gertrude Stein finds herself famous … after nearly thirty-one years in France, Gertrude decides to tour her native America in 1934, lecturing and bringing along her companion, the true Alice B. Toklas … This book details that journey, and also provides background on the two friends … They returned to France after almost seven months to meet the challenges of what became World War II …

Gertrude Stein

[S.T. · Rating 2 out of 5]

The subject matter of this book really interested me, but I have to say that the biographer’s writing style left a lot to be desired. His sentence structure, in particular, drove me nuts😬. So much of this book was just a listing (name dropping) of people and places without any real depth. Obviously there was a lot of research done, but that research certainly wasn’t developed in a manner that made for enjoyable reading…thus it took me two weeks to read a rather short book as it was just boring to read.

[Sophie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only finished this book because I set myself the challenge of reading it and finishing it, as part of a year-long challenge. There may have been a couple of entertaining anecdotes or interesting facts, which leads to it being rated a two, but otherwise, this book was not nearly what I was hoping it would be. Perhaps your experience would be different, as mine was based in part on expectation and disappointment.

A few things that I believe other people may dislike as well. The author was very biased towards Gertrude Stein. While this is not necessarily wrong, he would occasionally throw in something to seem less biased. At least that's how it felt to me. It is fine if you have studied a person and are biased towards them, but just tell us that in the beginning. My greatest problem with the bias is that it at times was illogical and made it seem that there was less research done that one (as a) reader would have liked.

[Susan Schwartz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting woman and time

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas spent thirty-one years in exile before returning to the US for a visit. When first asked to tour the US to promote their book, “The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas,” both women refused. But the more people clamored for their return, the more their resolve softened until they finally agreed to a six-month tour. They visited thirty-seven cities, had tea with Eleanor Roosevelt, had dinner with Hollywood stars at Charlie Chaplin’s home, and even attended a football game between Yale University and Dartmouth College. But they did not stay; instead, they returned to France and Parisian apartment and country home in the south.

Morris’ writing is excellent and he brings his subject matter, the larger-than-life Stein and the power behind the throne, Toklas, into focus with little known facts and vignettes. However, Morris annoyingly and seemingly unable to not gratuitously add his personal opinions too many times, including the last sentence of the book.

If you a fan of biographies, you will probably love this book, although it is not strictly a biography because of the way it is written, it is, rather, the story of a six-month period in Stein and Toklas’ lives as they toured the US, with a long introduction and then a quick telling of the last years of Stein’s life. Nevertheless, you’re sure to learn a thing or two about an author you may have known very little about prior to reading this book.

My thanks to Johns Hopkins Press and Amazon for the eARC.

[Auden White · Rating 3 out of 5]

a perfectly serviceable book about Stein's 1933 trip to America. Morris sometimes oversteps his scope.

[Anne Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

For those who didn't know a lot about Gertrude Stein and her partner Alice B. Toklas, this is a very readable introduction to their lives, as well as being a comprehensive run-down of their homecoming after the publication of "The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas". It's written in a lively and light hearted style and relies obviously on a great deal of research. For others who are Stein scholars or have otherwise delved more fully into her life, there's nothing new here, but the book is a welcome addition to the published works on these two most fascinating of women and may well succeed in bringing new acolytes to the shrine.

[Lauren Straley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Witty, sharp, and brilliant. Morris captures a spirit and energy that makes this book shine almost as much as it’s star, Gertrude. With strong attention to detail, colorful descriptions, and rooted in historical context, I felt like I grew to know Gertrude Stein over the course of this book. Incredibly well done.

[Sherry A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written, and it was great to read something new (to me) about Gertrude Stein. Now I need to read The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas again.

[Linda Stansbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wholly satisfying

Full of rich details, verbatim quotes, thorough descriptions of Gertrude, Alice and the incredible number of notable people who were their friends, acquaintances and neighbors. On every page, the author made me feel as though I was there. It was sad to come to the last page.