Wild Heart Natalie Clifford Barney and the Decadence of Literary Paris by Suzanne Rodriguez - 2002

Paris in July - 2019 - Hosted by Thyme for Tea

"My queerness is not a vice, is not deliberate, and harms no one.” 

―Natalie Clifford Barney

Natalie Clifford Barney

Born - October 31, 1876 Dayton, Ohio, USA

1884 - first lives in Paris, with her sister Laura to attend boarding school.  An 83   year love affair with Paris has begun.  At age twelve she first realizes she is a lesbian.

1893 - has her first romance - she met her last girl friend while sitting on a bench in Paris, age 80.  She never lost her passion for beautiful women.  Some were elite Parisian courtesans, and, if the gossip is true, many were one time no name encounters began all over Paris. Natalie loved being gay and was said to be very skilled with her mouth and hands. She liked bringing women to orgasms.

1896 - Paris becomes her permanent home.  She realized Paris, not homophobic uncultured Dayton, Ohio was where she belonged.  She does travel back to NYC and Washington DC for family business a few times but was always eager to get back to Paris.

She had a large literary output but I am not sure it is much more read.  She is famous as the Emperess of French lesbian society (to suggest she was a mere queen would be an insult.)

Died February 2, 1972 - age 95, Patis was her home for eighty years.

Wild Heart Natalie Clifford Barney and the Decadence of Literary Paris by Suzanne Rodriguez way exceeded my expectations.  This book would serve well as a first introduction to the Belle Epoch era in Paris (from 1871 with the end of the Franco-Prussian War to the start of World War One in 1914 through the 1920s and 1930s.  Rodriguez is very deeply knowledgeable of this period.  She also covers the World War Two era and events us until Natalie's death in 1972.  There are just so many interesting sidelines.  There is  a  section devoted the role of courtesans in French society that was very informative.  Courtesans were sort of the descendents of pre-revolution Royal mistresses.  Rodriguez tells us there were about forty top courtesans.  There were several periodicals devoted to them.  Many were bisexual, saying men for money but women for love and fun.  

Natalie had affairs with several elite courtesans.  She did not pay them directly but her wealth and luxurious life style were magnets.  I lost count but it looked like Natalie had about thirty serious nonshort term relationships.  She was not monogamous and this was sometimes an issue.  

She ran a literary salon for many years.  Among the famous writers who were frequent guests were Djuna Barnes, Gertrude Stein, Collete, T. S. Eliot, Proust, Hemingway, the Fitzgeralds, and Dolly Wilde, Oscar's niece.  Rodriguez days for sure she slept with Barnes (and supported her financially during hard times and probably Collete.  She had a longer relationship with Dolly Wilde which very well treated by Rodriguez.

Natalie was born into a rich family and when her parents passed she became very wealthy.  She never worked.  Not a great money manager, her sister Laura helped her.

She did have long term non sexual relationships with men.  

In a time when people back in Dayton had no idea what a lesbian was and could see no reason for a woman to want sex other than to get pregnant, Natalie was openly and proudly gay, if she were here today she would glad to be Queer and probably the Empress of Paris pride events.

Rodriguez goes into fascinating detail about her relationships to her parents.  Her mother was a well known painter.  Going back to her grandfather, the family fortune orgininated when he started a business making railroad cars.  Her father did not approve of her life style.

There is much much more in this book.  Rodriguez talks in detail about Natalie's literary work.  

Wild Heart Natalie Clifford Barney and the Decadence of Literary Paris by Suzanne Rodriguez should be on the syllabus of any Queer studies enterprises.

There was a negative aspect to Natalie.  She was anti-Semitic and made shameful comments in print during the period the Nazis occupied Paris. Rodriguez loves Natalie, and I came to also,but she doesn't shrug this off.

She shows us Natalie slowing down as she got older

This is a truly wonderful biography and much more.

Suzanne Rodriguez is a journalist and the author of three non-fiction books and hundreds of national magazine and newspaper articles. Suzanne’s writing covers numerous topics, including travel, food, wine, history, art, people, business, and technology. She lives in the town of Sonoma, California. When not at her desk, Suzanne can be found on steep hiking trails, traveling, enjoying great meals in wonderful dives or Michelin-starred restaurants, and pursuing research. She is currently completing a novel about a fascinating but little-known aspect of early California history. .. from Goodreads

If we decide to have a post Paris in July 2019 party, here is hoping Natalie agrees to host and underwrite it.

Oleander Bousweau

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