A Perilous Advantage: The Best of Natalie Clifford Barney

Finally, the writing of one of the century's most notorious lesbians is available in English. Though best known for hosting the avant garde of Paris for thirty years, Colette, Renee Vivien, Marcel Proust and Gertrude Stein, to mention a few, she was also a writer who challenged the male-dominated literary establishment both in the content and the form of her work. Now we can discover her views on the people, places and events of that exciting and stimulating era for ourselves. Here is a spirited translation of Barney's thought-provoking work by one of Britain's most interesting writers.
**Review
At last, the legendary Ms. Barney can speak for herself in this country. We have written about her in all our books about Paris, but few have had access to her writing. A welcome addition to any library for expatriate literary Paris. --Noel Riley Fitch - author of Silvia Beach and The Lost Generation
Natalie Barney has been praised, idealized and damned, but because she lived boldly and outrageously as a lesbian she is impossible to ignore. Anna Livia's excellent translations now make Barney's ideas and observations on the people she knew and loved available to a wider audience. At turns glib or profound, witty or repelling, Barney's words cannot fail to engage us. --Julia Penelope - author of Call Me Lesbian: Lesbian Lives, Lesbian Theory
About the Author
If I had one ambition it was to make my life itself into a poem. Natalie Barney