When I got this book, I was so excited to start reading it.  I guess the book is not what I imagined, and I am not sure what I really thought this book was going to be about.  I painfully finished it along with all of the repetitious name dropping of people.  I had hoped it would eventually get better, but no so!  It seems like it took me forever to finish reading it.   Not too much information on the younger ladies I wanted to learn about who lived there,  I do thank NetGalley for letting me read this for free.

A fascinating history of both the Barbizon and a certain class of women that stayed at the Barbizon. This is a well-researched history of the era when young women hopefully came to New York City to follow their dreams. It's a portrait of a certain time and place in history and though I wish it had incorporated more of the later years of the Barbizon, it is an unforgettable read. Those women....!! It will make you wish you could have been there!

Really loved this. The Barbizon has always fascinated me, along with the women who lived there. Lots of information here about Sylvia Plath, which I particularly enjoyed. Devotees of Plath and The Bell Jar will especially appreciate this in depth glimpse into the storied hotel.

A stunning history of American women seen through the scrim of The Barbizon in NYC. The residential hotel housed single women only, propelled to pursue their career dreams via post-WWI freedoms and the right to vote. The residents are enthralling ... from actresses Grace Kelly to Ali McGraw, writers Sylvia Plath to Joan Didion, along with fashion models and secretaries all clambering for success in the big city. A 20th Century historical gem!

What a wonderful place this must have been. I think Stage Door the movie was a vague representation of life at the Barbizon. In it each woman had a story a reason for leaving the comfort of home to strike her own path. Like the movie the stories had easy endings and tragic endings. What began as a place to feel safe , historically remained the same for decades. It offered shelter and a sense of place in a town known for its cold and relentless lifestyles. I enjoyed the name dropping but the smaller stories are where the real history lies. A place against the tide.

The Barbizon by Paulina Bren is a free NetGalley ebook that I read in early January.

The evolution of working women, since among its residents were models, writers, secretaries, actresses, and designers. Their experiences are carefully described in a second-person way by Bren, but while scooting back and forth through time as needed and often skittering off-topic when women venture out of the Barbizon and men enter during the 1970s, then time whisks by into the present-day. This may mean that it'd work better as an article series in a quarterly magazine than a book.

I have always been fascinated by The Barbizon and was so happy to get an ARC of Paulina Bren's book. Written for the general reader it covers the history of a landmark residential hotel and the women who passed through its doors. It's a history of women - actresses, writers, and more - all women searching for their place in a changing world. I enjoyed every page and I encourage others to get a copy.
My thanks to the publisher Simon & Schuster and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Barbizon was the most glamorous of the women-only hotels that cropped up on the New York City skyline in the early 20th century. Opened in 1928, how the Barbizon evolved over the next century is the story of the cultural change in America, especially for women. The 1920s began the era of the "New Woman," the flapper girls who emerged out of the First World War viewing college education and independent working years as an important stepping stone to married life. The goal was still to get married and have a family, but to maybe have something for herself first. The problem is there was no where to live. Previously, working women had been condemned to boarding houses that were run by charities and felt as much. In fact, a woman working in NY could not check into a hotel after 6 pm, unless accompanied with enough luggage to convince the front desk she was not a prostitute. Lest insufficiently sized luggage get her branded a hussy, women sometimes sheltered the night in train stations to avoid the accusation. In this environment, women-only hotels that allowed long term residency options were a necessary convenience.

This book follows The Barbizon through its many incarnations and in doing so chronicles the social and economic changes in an entire nation. First appealing to sophisticated, artistic women with nervous upper middle class parents, the Barbizon shifted focus in the Depression to the increasingly practical working girl. In the 1950s, the hotel became the residence of choice of the city's aspiring actresses and models. Show business could be a scary place for a young woman, but The Barbizon was a safe harbor. It also housed the young guest editors for the magazine "Mademoiselle."

This is where the book struggles with a bit of an identity crisis, because so much of it is taken up with "Mademoiselle." Not just the guest editors program (blown out of proportion in it's importance) but also the inside politics of the magazine and how it changed over the years. Specifically, the author is enamored with one specific "Mademoiselle" guest editor, Sylvia Plath. Given that Plath's residency at the hotel consisted of about one month in 1953, it's hard to understand why she dominates so much of the book.

The Barbizon started to lose its luster in the 1970s, as changing gender politics made a woman-only hotel seem a stodgy relic. The hotel started admitting men, refurnished, and eventually became condos the sold for millions. One of the more interesting topics that isn't touched on enough in the book is The Women-- a group of women who checked into the Barbizon back in the 30s/40s/50s and never left. Under rent control, not only were they paying a pittance but were legally allowed to stay regardless of any renovations. It's an interesting juxtaposition of the old New York of rent control and working class apartments with the new New York of eight-figure condos and neoliberalism where we push out the old (in this case, old women) while putting up a plaque in their honor.

Overall, I enjoyed The Barbizon. The parts about "Mademoiselle" were a bit of a slog, but the beginning and ending parts of the book made up for it. 3.5 stars.

I've always been fascinated by the Barbizon. Many young women came to New York City to establish a career and live in a safe spot. For many the only way parents would let them go is if they stayed in the protected environment of the Barbizon in a dormitory-like environment. The book did not disappoint but it was so much more than a history of the hotel. The author gave a bit of history about the Katharine Gibbs School and the Powers models who all lived there and a large portion was devoted to the guest editors at Mademoiselle. These were all girls in college who won a contest to work at the magazine and live at the Barbizon for one month. Notable residents focused on were Sylvia Plath and Grace Kelly. The book is about early feminism, how the GEs were all their to develop careers in writing and the arts, struggling to make their way in a male dominated world. Now the hotel is no longer but has been converted to pricy condominiums but still there are a few of the old inhabitants still there living hidden away from the new inhabitants.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for providing me with a copy of this book.

Paulina Bren has documented a slice of life in New York City from the construction of the Barbizon Hotel for Women in the 1920’s through its decline and reinvention in the later part of that century. In this well researched book Bren brings that iconic hotel to life through the many women who passed through its doors, from the famous to the notorious. And then there are the ones who never left: when the hotel was converted to condominiums eleven “Women” were protected by rent control laws and had to be accommodated at the mandated rates.

Bren introduced the reader to the various guests of the Barbizon: students from Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School, models from Eileen Ford Modeling Agency, and winners of a contest for Mademoiselle magazine.  She spent a large part of the book documenting the Mademoiselle guest editors—college students chosen from around the country to spend the month of June working for the magazine to produce the August issue. These guest editors included such names as Grace Kelly, Sylvia Plath, Joan Didion and Meg Wolitzer to name a few. 

I enjoyed this book from the aspect of the architectural details, the interesting women and the times. Bren has written so much more than a book about a women’s hotel—it is a book about women’s status from the post-war times through women’s liberation.

My thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for an advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Bren's The Barbizon is an informative and often entertaining read about New York's famous hotel for women. Focusing on the building's relationship with Mademoiselle magazine and its editors, and the Katherine Gibbs school and its secretarial students, Bren takes readers through the building's entire history, telling stories about its famous and not-so-famous residents. My mother was a Katie Gibbs graduate, and while she didn't live at the Barbizon--she commuted--I loved reading about New York and the ways in which women navigated it in the period when she had been there. Bren makes it clear from the start that the Barbizon was a place for upper- and some middle-class women, and that, until quite late in the 20th century, all white. By connecting the hotel with its famous residents, such as the guest editors of Mademoiselle, including Sylvia Plath and Joan Didion, Bren deftly crafts the story of the magazine as well. This book should find loads of readers and is terrific for a book club or group of any kind.

The most famous all-women hotel in NYC. Where women came to start living their dreams and to escape the confinements of home. A well researched walk through the decades, where we meet small town women and some that became the who's who in film, modeling, and the literary world. 
  
I was so excited that NetGalley gave me early access to this book. I was already hooked at the introduction. I've been mesmerized by the Barbizon since reading The Bell Jar and then Dollhouse. So, I was thrilled to read more factual details about the hotel. 
I breezed through the first quarter of the book and then it fell a little flat for me. There was too much dedication to Mademoiselle, the Guest Editor program, and Sylvia Plath. I also feel like the timeline was a little erratic and repetitive. While it was still very interesting, I did have to skim over some parts.

Overall, it was great to read more history about the Barbizon and the women who stayed there.

Paulina Bren has written an unprecedented book about the fascinating women who have stayed in the Barbizon Hotel over the years.  From Grace Kelly to Sylvia Plath, she gives brief but detailed and poignant accounts of their stays.  But beyond that, she also includes how their experiences at the Barbizon shaped them and made a meaningful impact in each of their lives.  I, admittedly, requested this book solely for the Sylvia Plath coverage, but I wound up getting sucked into the book as a whole even beyond the Plath bits.  Interestingly written, Bren puts forth a unique history that's definitely worth reading.  I don't think I learned anything about Plath's experience at the Barbizon that I didn't already know, but the analysis and examination of Plath's experience in her own life as well as the lives of her fellow Mademoiselle guest editors stand out and separate this book from a typical Plath biography.  With The Barbizon's specific focus on the hotel itself, the depth of Plath's time there can really be explored.

I recommend this book for people interested in history, particularly 21st century women's history.  And for Plath lovers, it's definitely worth a read!

With thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an early copy in return for an honest review.

When it comes to reading I particularly enjoy a book with a strong sense of setting, where the setting is almost an additional character in the story. So The Barbizon fits that perfectly! The book was incredibly well-researched and I felt like I learned about The Barbizon as if she (I imagine The Barbizon as a her) was a person right along with Grace Kelly, Sylvia Path, and Molly Brown.

For those interested in history, this book covers not only the history of this historic building but also looks at the history of women in NYC, as it provides context to this famed building.

This is a beautifully researched book.  I’d never heard of the The Barbizon before reading but Paulina Bren painted such a picture I could imagine myself there in its heyday.  I especially liked learning about the Mademoiselle guest editor program.  Although the author discusses the more well known residents like Sylvia Plath, Molly Brown and Grace Kelly, I liked learning about the small town girls who came to New York seeking adventure.  Would have liked to hear more about the Women who remain there today.

The Barbizon by Paulina Bren
Pub date 3/2/2021

Thank you to Simon & Schuster & NetGalley for the ARC.

“The Barbizon…had been a place where women felt safe, where they had a room of their own to plot and plan the rest of their lives. The hotel set them free. It freed up their ambition, tapping into desires deemed off limits elsewhere…” 

This is a non-fiction book about New York City’s Barbizon Hotel, one of a few women-only hotels that popped up in NYC after World War 1. The Barbizon promised a safe existence for women coming into NYC wanting to work in one of the many high rises going up around the city, or to become an actress or singer, or to work in fashion because after WW1, there were opportunities for women that didn’t necessarily involve marriage and children. Of course, the majority of women who spent time at the Barbizon no doubt went on to become wives and mothers, Paulina Bren focuses a lot of her energy on the women who didn’t really want that, even if, ultimately, that was where they ended up.

I liked this book, and although it wasn’t a page-turner in the traditional sense, I did find myself looking forward to sitting down and reading at the end of the day. I really enjoyed the stories of Joan Didion and Sylvia Plath as well as the hints at Grace Kelly’s lust for life and Molly Brown’s attempt at musical prowess.

Despite the famous people mentioned, the book focuses largely on the women who ran Mademoiselle magazine which was connected with the Barbizon as well as other women (and men) who were more behind the scenes and probably are not known to most people. 

There were times where to book dragged a bit, and sometimes there was some unnecessary repetition between chapters, but I am surprised by how much information Bren did get from a topic which she admitted did not have a lot written about it over the years.

Eventually, the Barbizon went the way of so many other buildings in NYC and went condo, but for 80 years, the building and the women who graced its halls became a part of the burgeoning feminist movement, even though most of them would absolutely deny that!

3.5/5 stars

The lore of the famous Barbizon has always fascinated me. A place for single women to live and work independently in an age where it was rare to do so. Most women married  a and started families, Barbizon was there for the rebels, the rare ones who wanted to experience life.

I wanted to love this book, and I liked a lot of it. 

From 1927 when it was built, the Barbizon housed women who wanted to be free from the usual demands made of women. Women flocked to New York to seek careers, many in show business, but also many in other careers. 

The list of people who stayed there and their stories are many and varied, and not everyone was famous. Not everyone succeeded, either, but the Barbizon was there for them. It was safe, clean and welcoming. The story about Margaret Brown was particularly interesting. She was quite a character! 

All that said, it was written rather dryly, but basically in chronological order. Interesting for those who like the history of old buildings and the stories of the thousands who passed through this iconic place.

I am fascinated with all things New York and the book The Barbizon, A Hotel That Set Women Free sounded like a fun frolick with girls of the 50's and 60's finding their independence and true selves.  Not so much. I was aware that this book was nonfiction but anticipated more fascinating stories of the inhabitants rather than the long boring chapters of history. This is perhaps my naiveté as the author is a very accomplished historian and professor at Vassar.  And believe me this book reads like a textbook.

I did enjoy the last chapter a bit more than the rest as it covered more of the 1960's and guests at the hotel such as Jaclyn Smith and Tippi Hedren.  Helen Gurley Brown is also referenced as an example of the "Sex and the Single Girl" type of female that the Barbizon attracted.  Actual interviews with any of the inhabitants would have been much more interesting than bits of their own bios that reference the Barbizon.  The book includes photos which I did enjoy.

I grew up in the Midwest in the 40s-50s so I was very familiar with the Barbizon’s reputation as a perfect place for young women coming to NYC for a few days or a long time to stay.  Therefore, it made it especially fun and interesting to read about it during the height of its success.  I was not aware of the role Mademoiselle magazine played vis a vis the Barbizon so it was interesting to read about the college girls who earned guest editorship positions being housed at the Barbizon, .and it was sad to read about the ‘women’ who stayed there for years and years.  The book gives us a bit of American social history from the early to late 20th Century.