author
Gertrude Thomas
A bold modernist voice, she helped reshape 20th-century literature while becoming a central figure in the Paris art world. Her writing is playful, experimental, and unlike almost anything that came before it.
1 Audiobook
Peter makes good, and stories of other dogs
by Gertrude Thomas
About the author
Born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, in 1874 and raised partly in Oakland, California, she later settled in Paris, where she spent most of her adult life. Her home at 27 rue de Fleurus became a famous salon for writers and artists, and she was closely connected with major figures of the modernist movement.
She wrote novels, poetry, plays, and memoir-like works, and became known for her highly original style—repetitive, rhythmic, and deliberately unconventional. Among her best-known books are Three Lives, Tender Buttons, and The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, which brought her wide public attention.
She also played an important role as a supporter of avant-garde art, collecting and championing artists such as Picasso and Matisse. She died in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, in 1946, but her influence on modern literature and ideas about language has lasted ever since.