Gertrude Stein, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas

Karen Leick (Ohio State University)
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Gertrude Stein's life-long companion, Alice B. Toklas, is the narrator of this book written by Stein, which describes their life together in Paris from Alice's point of view. Thus,

The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas

is not, in fact, Alice B. Toklas's autobiography; instead it is Gertrude Stein's idea of what such a book might look like. Many readers have remarked that, because the book describes Gertrude Stein more than any other person, the book is actually Stein's autobiography of herself. The

Autobiography

does, however, begin in an almost conventional way with a very brief chapter about Alice's childhood in San Francisco, California, “Before I Came to Paris”. It is also true that much of the book describes Stein's life before she knew Toklas, including childhood memories:…

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Citation: Leick, Karen. "The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 18 July 2003 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=1547, accessed 13 December 2024.]

1547 The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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