Alice B. Toklas
Alice B. Toklas was an influential figure in the early 20th century, known for her close relationship with writer Gertrude Stein and her contributions to literature and culinary arts. Born in San Francisco in 1877 to Jewish parents, Toklas faced significant family responsibilities after her mother's death, which limited her educational pursuits. In 1906, seeking a new life, she moved to Paris, where she met Stein, and they embarked on a nearly four-decade-long romantic partnership. Toklas served not only as Stein's lover but also as her housekeeper, secretary, and literary collaborator, playing a vital role in Stein's creative process.
Their home became a hub for prominent artists and writers, including Picasso and Hemingway. Toklas gained widespread recognition with the publication of Stein's autobiography, "The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas," which presented Stein’s life through Toklas's perspective. After Stein's death in 1946, Toklas began her own literary career, most notably with "The Alice B. Toklas Cook Book," published in 1954, which included a recipe for hashish fudge that drew considerable attention. In her later years, Toklas faced health issues and financial challenges, ultimately converting to Catholicism in 1957. She passed away in Paris in 1967, leaving behind a legacy intertwined with avant-garde literature and the cultural movements of her time.
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Subject Terms
Alice B. Toklas
Writer
- Born: April 30, 1877
- Birthplace: San Francisco, California
- Died: March 7, 1967
- Place of death: Paris, France
Biography
Alice B. Toklas was born in San Francisco, California, in 1877. Her parents, Ferdinand and Emma Levinsky Toklas, were Jewish. Toklas grew up both in San Francisco and Seattle, where her father worked as a merchant. She received her primary and secondary education in private schools. Her mother died while she was a teenager, leaving her to be raised by her father. Upon her mother’s death, Toklas became responsible for her father’s household and attended to all the housekeeping and cooking for her father, brother, and various uncles who lived with them. During this time, she attempted to continue her studies at the University of Seattle, but her domestic duties allowed little time for studying.
In 1906, Toklas met a Parisian couple, Michael and Sarah Stein, who enticed her with grand stories of life in Paris. At the age of twenty-nine, Toklas, who felt trapped by her family obligations, escaped to Paris. On her first evening there, she met author Gertrude Stein. The two women fell in love immediately and began a lesbian relationship that would last almost forty years. Throughout the course of their relationship, Toklas acted as Stein’s housekeeper, secretary, and typist. Toklas fully supported Stein’s literary efforts and often influenced the contents of Stein’s written work.
Toklas and Stein’s apartment on Paris’ Rue de Fleuries became a popular meeting place for many influential and intellectual personalities. Toklas and Stein were known to have entertained celebrities such as Pablo Picasso, Ezra Pound, Ernest Hemingway, and Sherwood Anderson. In the late 1920’s, when Stein could not find a publisher for her work, Toklas formed the publishing company Plain Editions, dedicated to publishing only the works of Stein.
In 1933, Stein published her autobiography which she facetiously titled The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas. This book was actually Stein’s memoirs presented as Toklas’s first-person observations. This autobiography, first published in an abridged form in The Atlantic Monthly magazine, made Alice B. Toklas a household name.
While Stein was alive, Toklas, a talented writer herself, refused to publish a book to avoid competing with her lover’s career. However, after Stein’s death in 1946, Toklas began her own literary career. Her best known work, The Alice B. Toklas Cook Book, was published in 1954. A combination of cookbook and memoir, the book contained several recipes contributed by her famous friends. One such recipe, donated by poet Brion Gysin, was for hashish fudge. This recipe, which included marijuana as one of its ingredients, propelled the book’s sales.
In her later years, Toklas suffered from ill health and financial difficulties. She lived for a while in Rome at the Convent of the Sisters of Precious Blood. In 1957, Toklas converted to Catholicism, explaining her conversion as an attempt to enter heaven after death and spend eternity with Stein. In 1967, Toklas died in Paris at the age of eighty-nine.