The American novelist Djuna Barnes wrote 'Nightwood' which has been described as one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century, ranking alongside the work of James Joyce or T.S Eliot, yet few have heard of it. Barnes was a famous figure in Paris in the 1920's and 30's, and now one of her earlier books, The Ladies' Almanack, has been re-issued. It's a tongue in cheek parody of her life in Paris and the sexual exploits of the women she met there. In her life time she never gained the fame and success of many of her contemporaries and ended her days at the age of 90 in relative obscurity and poverty. Nicola Swords spoke to Dr Daniela Caselli from Manchester University and to the publisher Douglas Messerli who met Barnes in 1973.
The Ladies' Almanack is published by Carcanet ISBN: 1857548272
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