Blood on the Dining-Room Floor

A quirky literary mystery from the iconic modernist writer known for her Jazz-Age Paris salon and bestselling book The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas. Gertrude Stein was a distinctly unique talent who penned many novels, essays, and poems. And on one occasion, during a bout of writer's block, she decided to play with the popular genre of mystery fiction. The book that resulted, Blood on the Dining-Room Floor, is not your typical whodunit, just as Stein was not your typical author. With elements of her trademark avant-garde style, the story revolves around the mysterious passing of Madame Pernollet, who is found dead in the courtyard of a hotel owned by her husband. Incorporating some autobiographical details from events at her own French country house, Stein invites the reader to play detective—and offers a glimpse into one of the early twentieth century's most interesting and challenging literary minds.