The Barbizon: The Hotel That Set Women Free

The author says she found little research about the hotel. She filled this nominal account of the Barbizon with rudimentary American history. The book describes the Jazz Age, the Great Depression, McCarthyism, Sylvia Plath, and Joan Didion as if you live on Mars and have never heard of them. She also gets facts wrong. Some errors aren’t about the hotel, but they destroyed my faith that the author knows history. They occur every few pages, but here's one example: "'fat-shaming' has existed since the beginning of time." (It has not. Before the 20th century, plump women were considered attractive because they obviously had enough wealth and privilege to eat well, and thinness signified poverty. Only in the 20th century, when wealthy women could eat well, exercise, and diet, did thinness start to signify wealth and therefore beauty.)But the biggest problem is the lack of information about the hotel. The 50-page first chapter titled "Building the Barbizon" has a lot of research (mostly unattributed, even in the endnotes) about the Jazz Age, even long lists of food served in speakeasies, but I’m still uncertain if flappers who went to speakeasies lived at the Barbizon, because residents were interviewed to ascertain that they were respectable and, once there, monitored for good behavior. Several pages are devoted to an account of a 16-year-old who ran away from home and moved to Cleveland, and I kept waiting for her to move to the Barbizon or even to NYC, but she stays marooned in Cleveland and marooned smackdab in the middle of chapter one. Four paragraphs at the end finally describe the hotel’s floorplan.And the misused words. And subjects mashed together so I’d read a paragraph over and over to understand what it meant to say. Infelicitous constructions: "shortly before her final, successful suicide attempt." (If it's successful it's not an attempt, and it’s a bit odd to call suicide “successful.”) A weirdly breezy tone: the description of Mollie Brown, survivor of the Titanic, has her determined to "row row row her boat." Goofy, faux-feminist cheerleading: "embracing the mantle of independence and female drive." (If that confused, overwrought metaphor—embracing a mantle of drive?—works for you, and you don’t mind not reading about the hotel, you’ll be fine. I read about 80 pages and then gave up.)

Renewed memories of living at The Barbizon from Fall, 1955~June, 1956. My parents from a small town, N.C. knew it as a safe place for living in NYC for me. Had no idea about where I was to be housed. No clue of the Grace Kelly and other inhabitants. Coffee shop cooks and waiters loved to inform everyone where GK sat in the morning for breakfast. I was not 20 and education it was in short order!The history of the times from 1927 until it became luxury condominiums was of particular interest having lived there. Well written. Loved the references to Mrs. Sibley at the desk and Oscar the doorman. Summer and met my future husband, so did not return as planned. So did not become a Perm as the older residents were termed, 😅

Paulina Bren does an incredible job of weaving together the stories of the famous (Syliva Plath, Joan Didion, Grace Kelly and many others) as well as the not so famous, while also capturing a broad range of themes around women and work, race, sexuality and independence. The remarkable thing is that Bren is able to handle all this complexity and make it so much fun and engaging to read. Some print reviews have tried to point out that the cover line "the hotel that set women free" is misleading. That the women who stayed at the Barbizon were generally not so free after all. They still faced endless limits, hurdles, conventions that restriced their opportunities. Book cover notwithstanding, that is the central theme of Bren's book. She does a masterful job of appreciating/celebrating the real sense of at least relative liberation that the hotel offered, while never sugar coating the struggles of the women who stayed there. Bren brings the Barbizon back to life with all of its complications and contradictions. The stories are fascinating and clearly deeply researched. I loved it!

With this book, Dr. Paulina Bren has crafted a masterpiece. "The Barbizon: The Hotel That Set Women Free," is not merely the history of a building and the fascinating characters who lived in its small rooms. It's also a stark reminder that society's expectations for, and demands of, women changed so dramatically throughout the twentieth century.I'll get back to broader history in a moment. But first, if you're looking for a book that includes fascinating anecdotes about life for young and independent-minded women (and the men who pursued them) in the 1920s - 1960s, this book is filled with unique and interesting stories, interviews, and good old (well-documented) gossip. You'll also read much about the history of Mademoiselle magazine, which helped to heap mystique onto the Barbizon while filling many of its rooms with college-aged guest editors for several decades.As a man, I was surprised to discover, thanks to this book, historical facts about women's rights that were never presented in history classes, but should be. For example, in the early twentieth century, women could not stay overnight at hotels unless they carried heavy luggage; the lack of luggage indicated, to authorities, that they "must be" prostitutes. And during the Great Depression, married women in 26 states were legally prohibited from holding paying jobs. When World War II broke out, and men were enlisted, women were expected to work. Then just a few short years later, in the 1950s, women were discouraged from applying for, or staying in, college or pursuing careers. Talk about whiplash –– something that men of the same century did not endure. It gave me lots to think about.In short: an excellent, page-turning, and poignant read.

I found this an engrossing read. I lived in New York for 14 years in the 70's and eighties and watched New York change right before my eyes. I loved reading about all the changes the guests of the Barbizon witnessed from the 1920's on. I couldn't put it down.