Kirjahaku

A NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS' CHOICE - LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE - "A beautiful and deeply moving book."--Sally Rooney, author of Normal PeopleAn engrossing group portrait of five women writers, including Virginia Woolf, who moved to London's Mecklenburgh Square in search of new freedom in their lives and work. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY POPMATTERS "I like this London life . . . the street-sauntering and square-haunting."--Virginia Woolf, diary, 1925 In the early twentieth century, Mecklenburgh Square--a hidden architectural gem in the heart of London--was a radical address. On the outskirts of Bloomsbury known for the eponymous group who "lived in squares, painted in circles, and loved in triangles," the square was home to students, struggling artists, and revolutionaries. In the pivotal era between the two world wars, the lives of five remarkable women intertwined at this one address: modernist poet H. D., detective novelist Dorothy L. Sayers, classicist Jane Harrison, economic historian Eileen Power, and author and publisher Virginia Woolf. In an era when women's freedoms were fast expanding, they each sought a space where they could live, love, and--above all--work independently. With sparkling insight and a novelistic style, Francesca Wade sheds new light on a group of artists and thinkers whose pioneering work would enrich the possibilities of women's lives for generations to come. Praise for Square Haunting "A fascinating voyage through the lives of five remarkable women . . . moving and immersive."--Edmund Gordon, author of The Invention of Angela Carter: A Biography "Elegant, erudite, and absorbing, Square Haunting is a startlingly original debut, and Francesca Wade is an author to watch."--Frances Wilson, author of Guilty Thing: A Life of Thomas De Quincey"Outstanding . . . I'll be recommending this all year."--Sarah Bakewell, author of At the Existentialist Caf "I much enjoyed Francesca Wade's book. It almost made me wish I belonged to the pioneering generation of women spoiling eggs on the gas ring and breaking taboos."--Sue Prideaux, author of I Am Dynamite A Life of Friedrich Nietzsche

A SUNDAY TIMES LITERARY NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEARA GUARDIAN BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR (AS CHOSEN BY AUTHORS)**LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE****SHORTLISTED FOR THE RSL ONDAATJE PRIZE**'Outstanding. I'll be recommending this all year.' SARAH BAKEWELL'A beautiful and deeply moving book.' SALLY ROONEY'I like this London life . . . the street-sauntering and square-haunting.' Virginia Woolf, diary, 1925Mecklenburgh Square, on the radical fringes of interwar Bloomsbury, was home to activists, experimenters and revolutionaries; among them were the modernist poet H. D., detective novelist Dorothy L. Sayers, classicist Jane Harrison, economic historian Eileen Power, and writer and publisher Virginia Woolf. They each alighted there seeking a space where they could live, love and, above all, work independently.Francesca Wade's spellbinding group biography explores how these trailblazing women pushed the boundaries of literature, scholarship, and social norms, forging careers that would have been impossible without these rooms of their own.'Elegant, erudite and absorbing, Square Haunting is a startlingly original debut, and Francesca Wade is a writer to watch.' FRANCES WILSON'A fascinating voyage through the lives of five remarkable women - moving and immersive.' EDMUND GORDON

'Strikingly accomplished . . . utterly compelling.' SUNDAY TIMES'A masterpiece of biography.' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH'A total joy to read.' SARAH BAKEWELL'I feel like I've been waiting for this book my whole life.' SHEILA HETIFrom the celebrated author of Square Haunting comes a biography as unconventional and surprising as the life it tells.'Think of the Bible and Homer, think of Shakespeare and think of me,' wrote Gertrude Stein in 1936. Admirers called her a genius, sceptics a charlatan: she remains one of the most confounding - and contested - writers of the twentieth century.In this literary detective story, Francesca Wade delves into the creation of the Stein myth. We see her posing for Picasso's portrait; at the centre of Bohemian Parisian life hosting the likes of Matisse and Hemingway; racing through the French countryside with her enigmatic companion Alice B. Toklas; dazzling American crowds on her sell-out tour for her sensational Autobiography - a veritable celebrity. Yet Stein hoped to be remembered not for her personality but for her work. From her deathbed, she charged her partner with securing her place in literary history. How would her legend shift once it was Toklas's turn to tell the stories - especially when uncomfortable aspects of their past emerged from the archive? Using astonishing never-before-seen material, Wade uncovers the origins of Stein's radical writing, and reveals new depths to the storied relationship which made it possible.This is Gertrude Stein as she was when nobody was watching: captivating, complex and human.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE AMERICAN LIBRARY IN PARIS BOOK AWARD 2025 'Strikingly accomplished . . . utterly compelling.' SUNDAY TIMES 'A masterpiece of biography.' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'A total joy to read.' SARAH BAKEWELL 'I feel like I've been waiting for this book my whole life.' SHEILA HETI From the celebrated author of Square Haunting comes a biography as unconventional and surprising as the life it tells. 'Think of the Bible and Homer think of Shakespeare and think of me,' Stein wrote. Admirers called her a genius, sceptics a charlatan. Gertrude Stein remains one of the most confounding - and contested - writers of the twentieth century. The host of glamorous salons at 27 rue de Fleurus, brushing shoulders with Picasso and Hemingway in her long brown robe, Stein never ceased plotting her own legacy. She would be known as the literary innovator of her time. And her enigmatic partner, Alice B. Toklas, would make sure of it.