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Overview
In this captivating book, Sherill Tippins brings to life the story of what was possibly the most fertile and improbable live-in salon of the twentieth century. Known as February House, its residents included, among others, Carson McCullers, W. H. Auden, Paul Bowles, and the famed burlesque performer Gypsy Rose Lee. This ramshackle Brooklyn brownstone was host to an explosion of creativity, an extraordinary experiment in communal living, and a nonstop yearlong party fueled by the appetites of youth. Here these burgeoning talents composed many of their most famous, iconic literary works while experiencing together a crucial historical moment—America on the threshold of World War II.
Synopsis
In this captivating book, Sherill Tippins brings to life the story of what was possibly the most fertile and improbable live-in salon of the twentieth century. Known as February House, its residents included, among others, Carson McCullers, W. H. Auden, Paul Bowles, and the famed burlesque performer Gypsy Rose Lee. This ramshackle Brooklyn brownstone was host to an explosion of creativity, an extraordinary experiment in communal living, and a nonstop yearlong party fueled by the appetites of youth. Here these burgeoning talents composed many of their most famous, iconic literary works while experiencing together a crucial historical moment--America on the threshold of World War II.
The New York Times - Amanda Vaill
Where February House succeeds is as a story of young artists trying to become themselves -- a story Auden might have been trying to tell in the libretto for his and Britten's failed Paul Bunyan opera. ''It is a forest full of innocent beasts,'' he wrote -- was he thinking, at all, of his Brooklyn house, full of British poets and composers, Manhattan magazine editors, neurasthenic Southern novelists, refugee German journalists, all of them with their most important work before them? ''It is America,'' he said then, ''but not yet.''
Editorials
From the Publisher
"[An] irresistible bonbon of a book . . . The house itself has long since been demolished, but Sherill Tippins has rebuilt it with intelligence and charm." The Washington Post"A cozy, gossipy read." The New Yorker"A magnificent—not to mention funny and raunchy—memorial to the place in prose." Seattle Times Post-Intelligencer"Brimming with information . . .Tippins has great affection for her protagonists . . . The personalities she depicts [are] indelibly drawn." Los Angeles Times"Deliciously readable...There's something about the allure of strange bedfellows that is simply irresistible." The New York Times Book ReviewDennis Drabelle
… overall, this is a bracing story. A number of gifted artists came together, stimulated one another and got started on important works. The house itself has long since been demolished, but Sherill Tippins has rebuilt it with intelligence and charm.— The Washington Post
Amanda Vaill
Where February House succeeds is as a story of young artists trying to become themselves -- a story Auden might have been trying to tell in the libretto for his and Britten's failed Paul Bunyan opera. ''It is a forest full of innocent beasts,'' he wrote -- was he thinking, at all, of his Brooklyn house, full of British poets and composers, Manhattan magazine editors, neurasthenic Southern novelists, refugee German journalists, all of them with their most important work before them? ''It is America,'' he said then, ''but not yet.''— The New York Times