Fastidious Kingdoms
asked
Amanda Vaill:
I loved your biography of the Murphys, and hope to revisit it soon. I’ve carried around a question the past 10 years or more, and you’re one of a handful on the entire planet who might know the answer. Although they all lived in Paris at the same time and hung out with the same people, I’ve never been able to confirm if the Murphys ever met Sylvia Beach or Getrude and Alice. Do you know? Thank you!
Amanda Vaill
Apologies for not responding promptly to your question -- I was dealing with the copy edited manuscript of my new book (about the Schuyler Sisters) and haven't been checking Goodreads.
Here's what I know: The Murphys did indeed meet and know both Sylvia Beach and Stein and Toklas, although I don't have any particularly telling anecdotes about their relationships with either. In 1927 the Murphys left their apartment on the Quai des Grands Augustins and moved to the rue Guynemer, just around the corner from the Stein/Toklas flat at 37, rue de Fleurus; so they were neighbors. And Esther Murphy, Gerald's sister, was quite close to Stein and Toklas as well. It was a small, small world.
Here's what I know: The Murphys did indeed meet and know both Sylvia Beach and Stein and Toklas, although I don't have any particularly telling anecdotes about their relationships with either. In 1927 the Murphys left their apartment on the Quai des Grands Augustins and moved to the rue Guynemer, just around the corner from the Stein/Toklas flat at 37, rue de Fleurus; so they were neighbors. And Esther Murphy, Gerald's sister, was quite close to Stein and Toklas as well. It was a small, small world.
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Richard Webb
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Amanda Vaill:
I'm a fan of your work. Everybody Was So Young is a masterpiece. We'd love to interview you? We have made a film with a new theory as to the The Great Gatsby. You can check out the web page for that www.GatsbyinCT.com And the companion book you can click on that page. Hopefully, Richard Webb rnwebbjr@gmail.com
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Amanda Vaill:
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Amanda Vaill:
About ten years ago my wife bought eight letters, written in 1926, at a flea market in the south of France. The woman who sold them to us had only one tooth. The letter writer was Claude Blanchard, a young French journalist who went on to become a front-page foreign correspondent with Paris-Soir. And now, manuscript completed, I'm looking for an agent interested in good narrative non-fiction! Advice?
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