Natalie Barney & Gertrude Stein walking their dogs on the Left Bank

Book review: Wild Heart – Natalie Barney and the Decadence of Literary Paris, by Suzanne Rodriguez. (5 out of 5 stars)

This biography describes Natalie Barney, a wealthy American heiress and sometime writer who lived a carefree – to some extent – lesbian life on the Left Bank of Paris, at times overlapping with more famous American expats like Gertrude Stein (they walked their dogs together) and Hemingway, as well as famous French Parisians such as Colette and Guillaume Apollinaire. It fits well into one of my hobbies, reading about life and the arts in Paris from 1890 to WW2, including the “Lost Generation” i.e. American expats like Hemingway, Stein, Fitzgerald, Sylvia Beach & Man Ray.

It’s written in a nice hybrid way: scholarly (carefully written with footnotes & biblio.) but not averse to throwing in zingers, e.g. “it could have been a great philosophical treatise if only she had battled that damnable proclivity toward laziness”, that keep the reader awake & alert.

It’s a very interesting study in human personality and relationships because Natalie had such personal charisma and was happy to spread it across most of Europe as she built her network of friends and lovers. Rodriguez is a talented writer and the book has many beautifully evocative descriptions. For example, the “hyphenated” house that Natalie and Romaine built on the Cote d’Azur:

Surrounded by tall coastal pines, the white, flat-roofed buildings of Trait d’Union had a distinctly Mediterranean look. There was a large terrace, where Natalie liked to curl up on a chaise and read. Long dinners were held in the dining room with its huge marble table. On fine clear nights friends were brought up to the roof, and everyone sprawled on cushions to gaze at the stars while eating homemade ice cream. Natalie loved the summer heat, the blissful quiet, the soothing grating of crickets, and driving each day to the nearby coast for the warm sea bathing.

I’d love to travel there tomorrow, see that house and spend a few days lounging around the Riviera!! Unfortunately, the house was destroyed in WW2.

Also, since I’m fond of the bracing chilly waters of Lake Superior in summer, I’d prefer it if those Mediterranean waters were a bit chillier!

Natalie herself was not without faults. She was polyamorous to the end, which caused the painful split with her lover Romaine Brooks. Nothing wrong with being polyamorous under the right ground rules; but Natalie was, as I recall, never very accepting of her lovers having multiple lovers themselves.

But it’s still a very very interesting character study full of fascinating stories and characters. As a US citizen, I love reading about expats – especially permanent ones – because it’s an unrealized dream of mine.

One complaint about the book, and as a frequent reader of biographies I find this common. The book ends immediately after Natalie’s death. But as a reader, I’m invested in various other characters and want to know what happened to them. How much longer did Romaine live? Gertrude? Lily? Etc. etc. I would love to read the author’s thoughts in a full chapter of assessment and reflection. It would also be a chance for the author to suggest conclusions and sweeping observations about the subject of the biography. But this bio, like most others, doesn’t offer that. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed the book and recommend it highly! Anyone who enjoys history and Paris would likely enjoy it even if they had never heard of Natalie Barney.