What a fun book. I’ve always been fascinated by the Barbizon, and it was wonderful to read a book on its history that also is a marvelous history lesson in mid-century New York for women. The author details so many interesting women who lived in the Barbizon, most particularly the guest editors of Mademoiselle magazine over the years (like Sylvia Plath and Joan Didion). My only regret reading the book is it’s an advance copy and the end notes haven’t been formatted, so I will have to get a finished copy later to check out the WEALTH of information in them!

Interesting history of the famed Barbizon and some of its residents. 
Historical information 5 stars. Information on the residents 5 stars. For some reason I lost interest halfway in.  Repetitious writing perhaps? Too much detail? Not sure. I did appreciate the information provided and the writing effort.

LOVED. When I first moved to NYC, my mother really wanted me to live at the  barbizon and was upset when I refused. However, this charming book brought it all back!

The first half of this book really kicked butt! It was everything I expected it to be. I learned about the reasoning behind the Barbizon, I learned some good gossipy facts about some of the women staying there, learned about the society of the time period, got an understanding of what companies had their 'girls' stay there -think Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School and different modeling agencies and I just had fun with this book.

Suddenly, this book turned from a fun read into a mishmash - Mademoiselle (magazine) introduced itself and its affiliation with the Barbizon. Learning about that was interesting; however, when the magazine introduced its Guest Editor editions, the second half of this book just dealt with that. Well, the Guest Editors and Sylvia Plath and the editor Betsy Blackwell (1937–1971).

Had I wanted to learn about Sylvia Plath, I would have gotten a book expressly written about her. Yes, I grasp that the book "The Bell Jar" was written about her experience at the Barbizon, but I still didn't expect this sort of 'hero worship' from this author. Nearly the entire second half of this book became the most tedious read except for the part when the hotel kept going through different hands and remodeling up until it eventually became condos.

*ARC supplied by the publisher and author.

This is really more of a snapshot of women in Manhattan as experienced by those making the transition of coming of age in an era of accelerated change.  The Barbizon, built in the late 1920's, initially represented a vision of female independence as the constraints of Victorianism gave way to more mobility and self reliance.  But there had to be an intermediate step for women leaving the protection of home for the first time, and the Barbizon with its combination of hotel amenities and housemother type managing style gave both parents and young women a sense of security.  Paulina Bren did her research, spooling out her history with personal stories of many of the more famous residents, each of which personalized an era.  

Much is here about Sylvia Plath who embodied the transitional 1950's, forever memorializing the hotel calling it the Amazon in her account of the month she spent there as one of the guest editors, or GEs, of Mademoiselle Magazine, which is covered extensively.  Also covered is the connection to Katharine Gibbs school and the part it played in the hotel's past.  While it was interesting to read of Gael Greene, Ali McGraw, Grace Kelly and others, there was a fair amount of repetition which became tedious after a while.  

The purpose of the hotel has shifted with the times and fortunes of New York, its current status as a location for very high priced real estate and multimillion dollar co-ops.  Not a perfect read, but fun for those who love reading about the popular history of New York in unique ways.

Oh my.  This book took me to a time and a place!  When I saw the topic of this, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it.  I was not disappointed!  The meticulous research, the photos that are included, the storied residents of this famous building, the events that took place at one address in New York City.  I am going to have to buy a physical copy as I am going to want to read this again.

I was initially excited about and interested in this book about women’s history in New York centered around a place many of them lived or stayed in. I had previously been unfamiliar with residential hotels and found the history of women’s only establishments fascinating especially given the time periods covered (30s-current). The beginning and endings of the book held my interest the most. Towards the middle the author gets a bit lost in the stories of Mademoiselle magazine and it feels as if the book loses its purpose. While important to the history of the Barbizon, it unfortunately centers the drama and experiences of the magazine for much of the book, a topic I found much less interesting. Overall, I am grateful to have found this book as I learned a lot of women’s history in New York and beyond that I previously had little exposure to. The relationship between the Barbizon and Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, one of my all time favorites, was especially fascinating to read. Thanks to netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was very well-researched and documented. Through the vehicle of telling the history of The Barbizon hotel for women, it brought to life the stories of the many women who passed through the doors during different decades in American history.

It reflects many of the triumphs and challenges of the women's movement. As such, It would be a great book for mothers and older daughters to read together; each would probably have been privy to a different view of the world in relation to gender roles. 

Because the topic of the book is so expansive, it is a testimony to the breadth of the author's knowledge and work. Every library should have a copy in their women's section.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Net Galley for the opportunity to provide my thoughts.

There is a lot to this book that I found interesting, how the builders decided on the décor of the building, The women who have been there since the 1930's and why, and the rules that were in place for safety and appearance. It's an intense look at a hotel that created the image we think about when we think of the elegance of New York.  The Barbizon is truly one of a kind that we will never be seen again but you can learn about in this book.
The reason I was interested in this book was I remembered the name associated with modeling but that's all. I never knew how important it was for young women from 1928 through the 1960 who wanted something more after college and high school besides marriage and children, and though it help some to achieve some independence it didn't stop many from ending up in marriage and with children anyway.  I was amazed at the amount of young women both famous and regular people who tried their luck in New York City by attending secretarial school, being a guest editor for Mademoiselle and  modeling and how serious they emerge themselves in the process, but in the end society forced most of women back to where they came from.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and Paulina Bren for the ARC of The Barbizon in return for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book about the history of The Barbizon Hotel. I had little knowledge of the history of the rise of women-only in the mid-Twentieth Century. While this book is a wealth of history it also reads like Sex and the City with the gossip of the famous women that spent time at The Barbizon. The book also intertwines the history of Mademoiselle magazine which was interesting as well.

I have known something of The Barbizon before (mainly that Grace Kelly slept there) but was really pretty enthralled by the reading of this book.  It is a very interesting social history with a grand old New York building at it’s heart. I knew that it was, in it’s day, a nice resident hotel for women frequented by want to be young actresses from respectable families who wanted their girls housed in a safe environment. It never occurred to me that during the Barbizon’s heyday of the 1950’s baby steps were being made toward what would be called the women’s movement. At the time the Donna Reed like housewife was being sold as ideal on every tv in America. The Barbizon tells the stories of women who went to New York City to see if they could find something different.

It took me a bit longer to reward than expected but I found this a fascinating read about history of a huge part of the 20th century New York and its women, a reflection of possibility of freedoms that began to be available to women in this country. Very enjoyable and well researched with so much air of intimacy and personal experience.

A history of the famous/infamous Barbizon Hotel for Women in New York City and several of the famous/infamous women who stayed at the hotel.  This was a very good, easily readable introductory history to the Barbizon and it's impact on women's history and the impact the hotel and others like it had on the freedom it gave women to be their own person and live on their own but still have a safe harbor in New York.  The Barbizon attracted women from all classes and women like the Unsinkable Molly Brown, Sylvia Plath and Grace Kelly all stayed at the Barbizon as well as loads of unnamed secretaries and models.  Bren does a good job of explaining the architecture of the building, the groups of women who stayed and the impact it had on the NY City skyline.

The Barbizon in New York City was built in 1927 as a hotel that working women who came to the city from across the United States could live.  There were models, actresses, secretaries in training and a group of talented young women who came each summer to be a guest editor for Mademoiselle Magazine.  It was a time when a woman alone, far from her family, was a scandalous site and the Barbizon leant them the sheen of respectability.  This was a fascinating look at the evolving mores, fashions, interests and professions of women from 1927 to the 1980's when the Barbizon started admitting men.  It follows several celebrities who lived there, such as Grace Kelly, Sylvia Plath, Ali McGraw, and Joan Didion.  I thoroughly enjoyed this engaging book.  I received a digital ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Net Galley for the chance to read and review this book. This is the history of one of the most famous hotel in New York City. In it's hay day, it was the place for young women to live. It represented a safe place for all the young women trying to make it in the world. Some of the women were very successful, but other women rebelled against the restrictions of the time. Women had a certain role to play, and if you did not fit into that role it was very hard for you. Even the young women who lived  there were expected to settle for a husband and children. This book is a history of the hotel, a history of women's rights and a history of some of the women who stayed at this famous hotel. Through the years, the hotel changed owners and it gradually went downhill. I really liked this book-it was well written with a lot of interesting facts about the Barbizon!

In the 1920's, the Barbizon opened as a women's only hotel in the middle of New York City.  These exclusive residents catered to their every need as they sought careers, husbands, or just freedom.  This book chronicles the story of the hotel, it's interaction with Mademoiselle magazine, and the famous people who lived within its walls.

I grew pretty bored with this book about halfway through.  The book felt extremely repetitive and went over the same few people over and over.  I wanted to hear a variety of stories and felt that the book lacked the variety needed for more than a short story or essay.  Overall, 2 out of 5 stars.

I've been intrigued by the Barbizon since my 11th grade English teacher said it was the real-life counterpart to "The Amazon" in <i>The Bell Jar.</i> Without a doubt, this was engaging and well-researched. I didn't gulp down the whole thing in one sitting, but I did read large chunks of it whenever I returned to reading this book. A good primer on the history of the former hotel and the times of its residents.

I'll stop short of saying it flowed nicely because Bren kept returning to specific years in the 1950s (specifically 1953, the year Sylvia Plath stayed), damming the narrative. But Plath was the main reason I wanted to read the book so I didn't mind too much that the focus was on her and her ilk.

This non-fiction book is an interesting look at the evolution of women’s independence and rights throughout the decades beginning in 1927 through current occupancy focusing largely on the 1930s through the 1950s. The Barbizon Hotel was a women only hotel in New York City that offered a safe environment for single women coming from all across America to the glamour of New York City.  In a male dominated world, these young women were seeking independence, careers, and/or fame.  While some achieved their dreams, for many young women the allure and excitement of the big city was not always all that they had hoped for it to be.  There are references to many famous women whose names are easily recognized, however the majority of the thousands of women that the passed through the Barbizon doors were average young women from large and small towns filled with hopes and dreams in an environment of changing societal norms. I enjoyed this book and will recommend it to friends and family members.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for an ARC in exchange for an honest book review.
The Barbizon was a glamorous haven for women of all classes and professions. The famous, the ordinary, actresses, secretaries, writers and models graced the rooms of this hotel and its exclusivity provided a safe and comfortable haven. Some, arriving with a dream and a suitcase in hand became celebrities and household names; Joan Didion, Liza Minnelli, Joan Crawford, Grace Kelly, Sylvia Plath, Molly Brown and Barbara Chase,  who broke the color barrier. Their lives are sprinkled throughout the pages of this book and provide an intriguing snapshot in time for the reader. This iconic building has stories to share and Pauline Bren provides a fascinating chronicle.
A highly recommended testament to this very grand hotel.

What do Rita Hayworth, Molly Brown, Joan Crawford, Grace Kelly, Tippi Hedren, Liza Minnelli, Ali MacGraw, Jaclyn Smith, Phylicia Rashad, and a slew of writers like Sylvia Plath and Meg Wolitzer have in common? The Barbizon Hotel.


The Barbizon opened in 1928 just when the roaring twenties peaked. It was a hotel for ‘only women’, and during its long history, the beauty of its clientele attracted the attention of many famous men. Who would hang out to get a glimpse of New York’s latest arrivals. Men were never allowed beyond the mezzanine lobby but the hotel on Sixty-Third Street only drew the most prolific crowd.

If a young woman made her way past the interview with the front-desk assistant manager, she was placed into an A, B, or C category depending on her age. Also required were letters of reference regarding moral character, not to mention looks and background. If she passed these tests, she would be escorted to a tiny room consisting of matching bedspread, curtain, and wallpaper with a single bed, dresser, armchair, floor lamp, a small desk, and a wall radio. This was often more than the average small-town girl had at home where she might share space with a sibling. Rates were $10-$22 a week. The Barbizon was luxury and for its residents, it could be home for weeks, months, or even years.

This is where young women were sent to stay in New York because it was known to be a ‘safe’ place, where the elevator operators changed in the evenings to all-female to ensure no men were allowed on the upper floors. There was a front door bouncer to watch out for the female residents, and he took his job seriously. Women who aspired to ‘be somebody’ felt free to study, dance, act, sing, write, or take flight because their haven was the Barbizon.

Mademoiselle magazine used the Barbizon for the winners of their guest editor program and this book highlights many of these young women and their stories. While most only spent one week to a month at the Barbizon, the experience would change their lives as they pranced around to parties and fancy outings supported by the magazine. Most of these women were college students and would return to their homes with even grander dreams than one could imagine after the Mademoiselle experience. 


The author paints a Barbizon tapestry highlighting the enormous number of features the establishment offered to the needs of its residents.  There was never a need to leave the full-service Barbizon. It had a dry cleaner, hairdresser, swimming pool, fashion designs, library, soundproof rooms for musicians and roof gardens.

Of course, each decade required changes to accommodate the latest trends and social requirements. Through the great depression, a world war, and into the fifties the hotel was home to young women artists, writers, and more.

This is an epic tale, and while I’m a chronological thinker, revisiting previous decades and repeating information was a bit of a struggle. But the book is fun and informative and even a bit glamorous. Enjoy.