Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production of iHeartRadio.

Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production of iHeartRadio.

Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracy V.

Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracy V.

Wilson and I'm Holly Frye.

Wilson and I'm Holly Frye.

If you listen to the listener mail segments at the end of our episodes, you might remember that Kristen wrote in about a Marie Lawrence exhibition at the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia. I did indeed manage to get down there before it closed on January twenty first. It was absolutely worth it, even though I had some weather related travel stress and I picked up a cold that has been lingering for nearly three weeks now. If you're like Tracy, that's COVID, it's not COVID. Negative for COVID, including on a molecular test, not COVID anyway, though the exhibits introductory signage included this, Before and after the war, Lawrence sah attended salons inspired by the ancient Greek poet Sappho, held at the Paris home of lesbian writer Natalie Clifford Barney, and standing there in the museum, I was like, Okay, I'm taking that as a message from the universe to finally do an episode on Natalie Clifford Barney. Her name has come up before, including in our episodes on both Brie Lawrencen and Collette, who we talked about last year, and then she's also she was connected to a bunch of other people we have talked about in the past, including Isidora Duncan, Edna Saint Vincent Malay and Gertrude Stein and Alice by Toklas. And then every time her name comes up in something that I'm researching, I'm like, we gotta do an episode on her sometime, and so now we finally are. I did not mean for this to be a two part episode. I got to the end of my note taking phase in what I did not even feel like were particularly like. I didn't feel like I was taking overly detailed notes. But I got to the end of notes and I had a word count that was already a whole episode, and I was like, oh, I'm in trouble. So this became two parts. Today we are going to talk about Natalie Clifford Barney's upbringing, her young adult life in Paris, and then the death of her father leaving her independently wealthy. And then next time on Wednesday, we will talk about the Paris Salon that she became really famous for.

If you listen to the listener mail segments at the end of our episodes, you might remember that Kristen wrote in about a Marie Lawrence exhibition at the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia. I did indeed manage to get down there before it closed on January twenty first. It was absolutely worth it, even though I had some weather related travel stress and I picked up a cold that has been lingering for nearly three weeks now. If you're like Tracy, that's COVID, it's not COVID. Negative for COVID, including on a molecular test, not COVID anyway, though the exhibits introductory signage included this, Before and after the war, Lawrence sah attended salons inspired by the ancient Greek poet Sappho, held at the Paris home of lesbian writer Natalie Clifford Barney, and standing there in the museum, I was like, Okay, I'm taking that as a message from the universe to finally do an episode on Natalie Clifford Barney. Her name has come up before, including in our episodes on both Brie Lawrencen and Collette, who we talked about last year, and then she's also she was connected to a bunch of other people we have talked about in the past, including Isidora Duncan, Edna Saint Vincent Malay and Gertrude Stein and Alice by Toklas. And then every time her name comes up in something that I'm researching, I'm like, we gotta do an episode on her sometime, and so now we finally are. I did not mean for this to be a two part episode. I got to the end of my note taking phase in what I did not even feel like were particularly like. I didn't feel like I was taking overly detailed notes. But I got to the end of notes and I had a word count that was already a whole episode, and I was like, oh, I'm in trouble. So this became two parts. Today we are going to talk about Natalie Clifford Barney's upbringing, her young adult life in Paris, and then the death of her father leaving her independently wealthy. And then next time on Wednesday, we will talk about the Paris Salon that she became really famous for.

Natalie Clifford Barney was born in Dayton, Ohio, on October thirty first, eighteen seventy six. She loved that this was her birthday. She felt like her life contained a lot of duality, so she liked that October thirty first had connections to both Christian and pagan observances. Later, she also developed an affinity for astrology and numerology, and she formed a club called the Scorpions after their astrological sign of Scorpio for people with the same birthday, and one of the other members of that club was Marie Lawrence Soon.

Natalie Clifford Barney was born in Dayton, Ohio, on October thirty first, eighteen seventy six. She loved that this was her birthday. She felt like her life contained a lot of duality, so she liked that October thirty first had connections to both Christian and pagan observances. Later, she also developed an affinity for astrology and numerology, and she formed a club called the Scorpions after their astrological sign of Scorpio for people with the same birthday, and one of the other members of that club was Marie Lawrence Soon.

Natalie was the first daughter born to Albert Clifford Barney and Alice Pike Barney, who were both from wealthy families. Albert's father had made a fortune manufacturing railway cars, including for the Pullman Company, and Alice's father was an entrepreneur who ran a dry goods store and distilleries, doing well enough that he eventually moved into investing in things like property and trolley systems and opera houses. Thanks to those opera houses, guests at the Pike home when Alice was young included past podcast subjects Marie Taglioni and Lola Montes, and Alice developed a deep love of music and the arts.

Natalie was the first daughter born to Albert Clifford Barney and Alice Pike Barney, who were both from wealthy families. Albert's father had made a fortune manufacturing railway cars, including for the Pullman Company, and Alice's father was an entrepreneur who ran a dry goods store and distilleries, doing well enough that he eventually moved into investing in things like property and trolley systems and opera houses. Thanks to those opera houses, guests at the Pike home when Alice was young included past podcast subjects Marie Taglioni and Lola Montes, and Alice developed a deep love of music and the arts.

The Barney family moved to Cincinnati when Natalie was still a baby, and her younger sister, Laura was born there in eighteen seventy nine. While Natalie was always creative and outgoing and sociable in many ways, Laura was nearly her oppice. She was just a lot more quiet and reserved. But the two of them had a very tight and lifelong bond as sisters.

The Barney family moved to Cincinnati when Natalie was still a baby, and her younger sister, Laura was born there in eighteen seventy nine. While Natalie was always creative and outgoing and sociable in many ways, Laura was nearly her oppice. She was just a lot more quiet and reserved. But the two of them had a very tight and lifelong bond as sisters.

While their life at home was financially pretty comfortable, it was not always happy. Albert and Alice's marriage was strained pretty soon after the wedding. Alice had come to see him as narrow minded and prejudiced. He also had a lot of affairs over the course of the marriage, and there's really not evidence that Alice did the same, but he was deeply jealous and possessive of her.

While their life at home was financially pretty comfortable, it was not always happy. Albert and Alice's marriage was strained pretty soon after the wedding. Alice had come to see him as narrow minded and prejudiced. He also had a lot of affairs over the course of the marriage, and there's really not evidence that Alice did the same, but he was deeply jealous and possessive of her.

For example, not long after they got married, Albert found letters that explorer and writer Henry Morton Stanley had written to Alice. Henry and Alice had met in New York when Alice was seventeen and Henry was thirty three, and he eventually proposed, but Alice's mother had sent her back to Dayton to separate the two of them. When Albert found these letters, Alice insisted they were nothing to be threatened by, but he made her burn them all while he was watching Albert. It's jealousy of and antipathy for Henry Morton Stanley went on for years, and it didn't help that newspaper reporters writing about Stanley often brought up the fact that he had once been betrothed to an heiress who had left him and married someone else. It was one of those details they liked to drop in reporting that was not about his relationships at all, They just throw that in there. Albert's behavior could also be really frightening, especially when he was intoxicated. Once, after he had a fight with Alice, he took Natalie and Laura out of the house and boarded a train with them and then threatens to kill all three of them by throwing them off of it. He only stopped when Natalie grabbed the emergency brake and threatens a pullet and make a scene. When Natalie and Laura were still young children, the family started spending their summers at seaside resorts. When Natalie was six, she had a formative experience. While they were in Long Beach, New York. Natalie was trying to run away from a pack of boys when a tall man came to her rescue and picked her up. That tall man turned out to be Oscar Wilde, who was in New York on a North American tour. Natalie later called this her first adventure.

For example, not long after they got married, Albert found letters that explorer and writer Henry Morton Stanley had written to Alice. Henry and Alice had met in New York when Alice was seventeen and Henry was thirty three, and he eventually proposed, but Alice's mother had sent her back to Dayton to separate the two of them. When Albert found these letters, Alice insisted they were nothing to be threatened by, but he made her burn them all while he was watching Albert. It's jealousy of and antipathy for Henry Morton Stanley went on for years, and it didn't help that newspaper reporters writing about Stanley often brought up the fact that he had once been betrothed to an heiress who had left him and married someone else. It was one of those details they liked to drop in reporting that was not about his relationships at all, They just throw that in there. Albert's behavior could also be really frightening, especially when he was intoxicated. Once, after he had a fight with Alice, he took Natalie and Laura out of the house and boarded a train with them and then threatens to kill all three of them by throwing them off of it. He only stopped when Natalie grabbed the emergency brake and threatens a pullet and make a scene. When Natalie and Laura were still young children, the family started spending their summers at seaside resorts. When Natalie was six, she had a formative experience. While they were in Long Beach, New York. Natalie was trying to run away from a pack of boys when a tall man came to her rescue and picked her up. That tall man turned out to be Oscar Wilde, who was in New York on a North American tour. Natalie later called this her first adventure.

This was a formative moment for her mother too. The next day, Oscar Wilde showed up at the beach and struck up a conversation with Alice. They were essentially strangers, but they wound up having this really intimate discussion about Alice's life and her marriage. Alice and Oscar were confidants until Oscar had to go back to his tour, and their conversations really highlighted for her how unhappy she was and how her passions for art and music had been squashed through her marriage to Albert.

This was a formative moment for her mother too. The next day, Oscar Wilde showed up at the beach and struck up a conversation with Alice. They were essentially strangers, but they wound up having this really intimate discussion about Alice's life and her marriage. Alice and Oscar were confidants until Oscar had to go back to his tour, and their conversations really highlighted for her how unhappy she was and how her passions for art and music had been squashed through her marriage to Albert.

Soon after, Alice convinced Albert to take a trip to Europe under the guise of looking for a boarding school for the girls to attend when they got a little older. Albert was of the opinion that a European education would be necessary for the girls to attract suitable husbands, so he agreed to this trip. But Alice also had another goal in mind, which was figuring out how she could get herself to Europe to study painting.

Soon after, Alice convinced Albert to take a trip to Europe under the guise of looking for a boarding school for the girls to attend when they got a little older. Albert was of the opinion that a European education would be necessary for the girls to attract suitable husbands, so he agreed to this trip. But Alice also had another goal in mind, which was figuring out how she could get herself to Europe to study painting.

About four years later, in eighteen eighty seven, Albert's mother died and Albert inherited enough money that the family became really wealthy. This was wealthy enough to actually afford the kind of lifestyle they'd been living for the last few years, and to kick it up a notch. Not long after the estate was settled, Albert started construction on two new homes. One was the family's main residence in Washington, d c. The other was a summer cottage in Bar Harbor, Maine. Although the word cottage has connotations of something small and quaint, a lot of the so called cottages built in North America during the Gilded Age were quite the opposite. They were literally mansions. This Bar Harbor cottage, known as Bannyburn, had twenty seven rooms, including seven bedrooms just for the servants. This was also the year that Natalie and Laura were sent to boarding school in France, to a school called Le Rouche, which they had visited on that earlier trip to Europe. Natalie was eleven at this point and her sister was seven, and Alice convinced their father that since they were so young and had never been away from home like this before, that she should go to France as well and rent an apartment in Paris. Although this was really about her getting away from Albert and getting to study painting, this transition really was hard for the girls. When their parents had first tried to drop them off at the school, they were both so upset that the family wound up going back to Paris for a while before trying again. Yeah, this is also like the pattern for the rest of Alice's life was finding reasons, like finding reasonable explanations for her to be in Europe studying painting instead of back in the United States with her husband. There was an irony in this choice of boarding school though, as we said, in Albert's mind this education was going to help his daughters attract suitable husbands, and Le Rouche was a prestigious school. Its curriculum was focused on the kinds of subjects that were considered appropriate for the future wives of rich men, so things like languages, music, poetry, deportment and drawing, but the school's founder, Maurice vest also she thought that girls should be able to think for themselves. By the time Natalie and Laura enrolled at the school, she herself had moved on to start a school outside London, where one of her students would be the famously headstrong Eleanor Roosevelt. But the school was still very focused on teaching girls to make their own decisions and to think about things logically and rationally. This school they were sent to in France was really not one that was going to teach them to be obedient to their parents or subservient to future husbands. Meanwhile, Alice Barney was making a serious study of art. One of the paintings she created during her daughter's first term at school, called Paissan Polonaise or Polish Peasant, was accepted at the Paris Salon in eighteen eighty nine. We will get to Natalie's life at school after a quick sponsor break. While in school at LaRouche, Natalie Clifford Barney was an excellent student in some subjects, kind of an okay student in other ones. It seems like it really depended on whether this interested her or not. She had started learning French from a governess earlier in her life, and French was the only language allowed to be spoken at LaRouche. This put her on the path to becoming a fluent speaker of both French and English, and most of her later riding was in French. Natalie wrote and played the violin, and she also played tennis and croquet, and she spent as much time as she could riding horses. Horseback riding was one of her great loves in life. She also became increasingly free spirited and rebellious, so things like refusing to wear corsets and insisting on riding a stride on her horse instead of side saddle, as women and girls were expected to do.

About four years later, in eighteen eighty seven, Albert's mother died and Albert inherited enough money that the family became really wealthy. This was wealthy enough to actually afford the kind of lifestyle they'd been living for the last few years, and to kick it up a notch. Not long after the estate was settled, Albert started construction on two new homes. One was the family's main residence in Washington, d c. The other was a summer cottage in Bar Harbor, Maine. Although the word cottage has connotations of something small and quaint, a lot of the so called cottages built in North America during the Gilded Age were quite the opposite. They were literally mansions. This Bar Harbor cottage, known as Bannyburn, had twenty seven rooms, including seven bedrooms just for the servants. This was also the year that Natalie and Laura were sent to boarding school in France, to a school called Le Rouche, which they had visited on that earlier trip to Europe. Natalie was eleven at this point and her sister was seven, and Alice convinced their father that since they were so young and had never been away from home like this before, that she should go to France as well and rent an apartment in Paris. Although this was really about her getting away from Albert and getting to study painting, this transition really was hard for the girls. When their parents had first tried to drop them off at the school, they were both so upset that the family wound up going back to Paris for a while before trying again. Yeah, this is also like the pattern for the rest of Alice's life was finding reasons, like finding reasonable explanations for her to be in Europe studying painting instead of back in the United States with her husband. There was an irony in this choice of boarding school though, as we said, in Albert's mind this education was going to help his daughters attract suitable husbands, and Le Rouche was a prestigious school. Its curriculum was focused on the kinds of subjects that were considered appropriate for the future wives of rich men, so things like languages, music, poetry, deportment and drawing, but the school's founder, Maurice vest also she thought that girls should be able to think for themselves. By the time Natalie and Laura enrolled at the school, she herself had moved on to start a school outside London, where one of her students would be the famously headstrong Eleanor Roosevelt. But the school was still very focused on teaching girls to make their own decisions and to think about things logically and rationally. This school they were sent to in France was really not one that was going to teach them to be obedient to their parents or subservient to future husbands. Meanwhile, Alice Barney was making a serious study of art. One of the paintings she created during her daughter's first term at school, called Paissan Polonaise or Polish Peasant, was accepted at the Paris Salon in eighteen eighty nine. We will get to Natalie's life at school after a quick sponsor break. While in school at LaRouche, Natalie Clifford Barney was an excellent student in some subjects, kind of an okay student in other ones. It seems like it really depended on whether this interested her or not. She had started learning French from a governess earlier in her life, and French was the only language allowed to be spoken at LaRouche. This put her on the path to becoming a fluent speaker of both French and English, and most of her later riding was in French. Natalie wrote and played the violin, and she also played tennis and croquet, and she spent as much time as she could riding horses. Horseback riding was one of her great loves in life. She also became increasingly free spirited and rebellious, so things like refusing to wear corsets and insisting on riding a stride on her horse instead of side saddle, as women and girls were expected to do.

And she also realized that she was attracted to other girls. We have talked on the show before about how for much of the nineteenth century there was a lot of stigma around lesbianism in adult women, but it was simultaneously considered normal and healthy for girls to have physically affectionate relationships and even crushes on one another. This was thought of as sort of a necessary step in becoming a good wife to a man. People only started to regard these relationships with suspicion if girls got too old for it or if their relationships were too intense. But by the time she was about twelve, Natalie understood that her attraction to girls was not just part of her childhood, that it would be central to her entire life.

And she also realized that she was attracted to other girls. We have talked on the show before about how for much of the nineteenth century there was a lot of stigma around lesbianism in adult women, but it was simultaneously considered normal and healthy for girls to have physically affectionate relationships and even crushes on one another. This was thought of as sort of a necessary step in becoming a good wife to a man. People only started to regard these relationships with suspicion if girls got too old for it or if their relationships were too intense. But by the time she was about twelve, Natalie understood that her attraction to girls was not just part of her childhood, that it would be central to her entire life.

Although Natalie had crushes and flirtations at LaRouche, it seems like the first time another girl returned her affections in the same way was in Bar Harbor in eighteen ninety three. Eva Palmer's family also summered there, and she and Natalie had become friends a few summers before. When their relationship moved from platonic to physical, Natalie was sixteen and Eva was nineteen. Their first sexual experience together was after Eva read a poem by Sappho at a variety show. She read this in its original Greek, so unless they knew Greek, the people and the audience were not really aware of its significance. Can't imagine there were a lot of people fluent in Greek. Probably not.

Although Natalie had crushes and flirtations at LaRouche, it seems like the first time another girl returned her affections in the same way was in Bar Harbor in eighteen ninety three. Eva Palmer's family also summered there, and she and Natalie had become friends a few summers before. When their relationship moved from platonic to physical, Natalie was sixteen and Eva was nineteen. Their first sexual experience together was after Eva read a poem by Sappho at a variety show. She read this in its original Greek, so unless they knew Greek, the people and the audience were not really aware of its significance. Can't imagine there were a lot of people fluent in Greek. Probably not.

For the next couple of years, Natalie traveled back and forth between Europe and North America, and she spent some time at a finishing school in New York. Although there were a number of women's colleges by this point, she never really aspired to go to one of them, and she also did not aspire to get married. Seeing the realities of her parents' marriage had made her wary of the whole institution, and seeing how her father behaved while drunk also led her to avoid alcohol.

For the next couple of years, Natalie traveled back and forth between Europe and North America, and she spent some time at a finishing school in New York. Although there were a number of women's colleges by this point, she never really aspired to go to one of them, and she also did not aspire to get married. Seeing the realities of her parents' marriage had made her wary of the whole institution, and seeing how her father behaved while drunk also led her to avoid alcohol.

Getting married was the expected path for her, though, and since she was witty and vivacious, beautiful, and very rich, she attracted plenty of suitors. She liked the attention, she liked to flirt, but she made it clear that she was not interested in these men. But then, in eighteen ninety five, she met Robert Kelso Cassatt, nephew of Mary Cassat, and he fell deeply in love with her. Natalie told him directly that she was interested in women and not men, and he proposed that they get married anyway, their relationship to one another would be platonic, and each of them would be free to see other people. At least in theory, this seemed like an ideal scenario. Bob would get to marry the woman he was in love with, Natalie would get to marry a man, which is what society and particularly her father expected of her, and it was also a man she liked, even if she wasn't physically attracted to him, and they'd each meet their physical needs with other people, something that Bob thought that he could handle. By the time Natalie had her formal society debut, they were unofficially engaged. We will pause here for a second to talk about Natalie Clifford Barney's thoughts on monogamy, because they were at play here. Of course, they would also be a very big part of the rest of her life. She really advocated for having lots of lovers without being jealous or possessive of anybody. She had a number of long term relationships that overlapped with one another, some of them lasting for decades. Later in her life, she sorted all of these into three broad categories. There were the liaisons, the demi liaisons, and the adventures. The liaisons were the most important of them.

Getting married was the expected path for her, though, and since she was witty and vivacious, beautiful, and very rich, she attracted plenty of suitors. She liked the attention, she liked to flirt, but she made it clear that she was not interested in these men. But then, in eighteen ninety five, she met Robert Kelso Cassatt, nephew of Mary Cassat, and he fell deeply in love with her. Natalie told him directly that she was interested in women and not men, and he proposed that they get married anyway, their relationship to one another would be platonic, and each of them would be free to see other people. At least in theory, this seemed like an ideal scenario. Bob would get to marry the woman he was in love with, Natalie would get to marry a man, which is what society and particularly her father expected of her, and it was also a man she liked, even if she wasn't physically attracted to him, and they'd each meet their physical needs with other people, something that Bob thought that he could handle. By the time Natalie had her formal society debut, they were unofficially engaged. We will pause here for a second to talk about Natalie Clifford Barney's thoughts on monogamy, because they were at play here. Of course, they would also be a very big part of the rest of her life. She really advocated for having lots of lovers without being jealous or possessive of anybody. She had a number of long term relationships that overlapped with one another, some of them lasting for decades. Later in her life, she sorted all of these into three broad categories. There were the liaisons, the demi liaisons, and the adventures. The liaisons were the most important of them.

Some writers discuss Barney's concurrent relationships in terms of infidelity, but that has some connotations of secrecy or of deception or breaking a commitment to be faithful to someone. Barney did make commitments to some of the women she was involved with, but those commitments did not involve being monogamous. Yeah, she might commit to like somebody being first in her heart, but like not to just excluding other people from her life. For example, in eighteen nineteen, Natalie Clifford Barney and Elizabeth de Grimmau wrote up what was basically a marriage contract, and this was not the only such commitment that she made with another woman. By that point, they had been together for nine years, during which they had each also been involved with other people at various points, and Elizabeth de Grandma was married to a man, although that marriage had been horrifically abusive. This contract set in part quote, Adultery is inevitable in these relationships when there is no prejudice, no religion other than feelings, no laws other than desire, incapable of vain sacrifices that seemed to be the negation of life itself. This contract later went on to say quote, since the danger of affairs is ever present and impossible to foresee, one will just have to bring the other back, neither out of revenge nor to limit the other, but because the union demands it. No other union shall be so strong as this union, nor another joining so tender, nor relationships so lasting polyamory would not be coined until about two decades after Barney's death, and today polyamory has its own vocabulary and cultural elements that absolutely had not developed at this point. But there were some similarities in terms of the idea that everyone in these relationships was meant to know about the other partners, to consent to being involved, and to approach it all with a sense of trust. But all of that is way more true in terms of how Barney conceptualized these relationships than how they actually worked in practice. Sometimes she was really jealous or possessive. She could be deeply petty when this was the case. There were times when she would try to keep her partners from seeing other people or from seeing specific other people. And then there were also times when one of her partners, who had at least theoretically agreed to this kind of open relationship, did the same thing to her. Sometimes somebody thought they would be okay with Barney's other relationlationships until they were actually in the middle of a relationship with her.

Some writers discuss Barney's concurrent relationships in terms of infidelity, but that has some connotations of secrecy or of deception or breaking a commitment to be faithful to someone. Barney did make commitments to some of the women she was involved with, but those commitments did not involve being monogamous. Yeah, she might commit to like somebody being first in her heart, but like not to just excluding other people from her life. For example, in eighteen nineteen, Natalie Clifford Barney and Elizabeth de Grimmau wrote up what was basically a marriage contract, and this was not the only such commitment that she made with another woman. By that point, they had been together for nine years, during which they had each also been involved with other people at various points, and Elizabeth de Grandma was married to a man, although that marriage had been horrifically abusive. This contract set in part quote, Adultery is inevitable in these relationships when there is no prejudice, no religion other than feelings, no laws other than desire, incapable of vain sacrifices that seemed to be the negation of life itself. This contract later went on to say quote, since the danger of affairs is ever present and impossible to foresee, one will just have to bring the other back, neither out of revenge nor to limit the other, but because the union demands it. No other union shall be so strong as this union, nor another joining so tender, nor relationships so lasting polyamory would not be coined until about two decades after Barney's death, and today polyamory has its own vocabulary and cultural elements that absolutely had not developed at this point. But there were some similarities in terms of the idea that everyone in these relationships was meant to know about the other partners, to consent to being involved, and to approach it all with a sense of trust. But all of that is way more true in terms of how Barney conceptualized these relationships than how they actually worked in practice. Sometimes she was really jealous or possessive. She could be deeply petty when this was the case. There were times when she would try to keep her partners from seeing other people or from seeing specific other people. And then there were also times when one of her partners, who had at least theoretically agreed to this kind of open relationship, did the same thing to her. Sometimes somebody thought they would be okay with Barney's other relationlationships until they were actually in the middle of a relationship with her.

At various points there was just a lot of drama and mess and angst. We're not going to like go through all the drama with all of the relationships we're going to talk of, but like there was a lot simultaneously though Natalie Clifford, Barney maintained lifelong friendships, sometimes very close friendships with a lot of these women after their romance had ended, even if that romance had been like really tumultuous. So to return to the timeline, one of the people who thought they would be okay with Barney's other relationships but turned out not to be was Bob Cassot. He visited her in Paris in the spring of eighteen ninety nine, so about four years into their relationship. By that point, their engagement was considered official enough that Barney was allowed to be out with him unchaperoned. They met up with a woman named Carmen Rossi, who was one of Alice Barney's favor art models. By this point, Alice Barney had studied painting with James McNeil Whistler and was hosting a salon out of her Paris apartment. Barney and Rossi already had a sexual relationship, which Cassatt knew about. They all went to a restaurant that had these small dining rooms that were basically made for privacy the view of the room was blocked by a screen, and the wait staff did not enter beyond that screen unless they were invited to do so. Rossi and Barney became increasingly affectionate with each other, so Cassatt decided that he would leave them alone for a little while. He did not actually leave the room, though, he watched what they were doing from behind that screen and eventually started audibly sobbing.

At various points there was just a lot of drama and mess and angst. We're not going to like go through all the drama with all of the relationships we're going to talk of, but like there was a lot simultaneously though Natalie Clifford, Barney maintained lifelong friendships, sometimes very close friendships with a lot of these women after their romance had ended, even if that romance had been like really tumultuous. So to return to the timeline, one of the people who thought they would be okay with Barney's other relationships but turned out not to be was Bob Cassot. He visited her in Paris in the spring of eighteen ninety nine, so about four years into their relationship. By that point, their engagement was considered official enough that Barney was allowed to be out with him unchaperoned. They met up with a woman named Carmen Rossi, who was one of Alice Barney's favor art models. By this point, Alice Barney had studied painting with James McNeil Whistler and was hosting a salon out of her Paris apartment. Barney and Rossi already had a sexual relationship, which Cassatt knew about. They all went to a restaurant that had these small dining rooms that were basically made for privacy the view of the room was blocked by a screen, and the wait staff did not enter beyond that screen unless they were invited to do so. Rossi and Barney became increasingly affectionate with each other, so Cassatt decided that he would leave them alone for a little while. He did not actually leave the room, though, he watched what they were doing from behind that screen and eventually started audibly sobbing.

This led to an argument between him and Barney. She was really frustrated by the fact that he was the one who suggested they have a sexless open marriage, and now the very first time he had experienced firsthand what that would mean, he was breaking down and describing it as unbearable.

This led to an argument between him and Barney. She was really frustrated by the fact that he was the one who suggested they have a sexless open marriage, and now the very first time he had experienced firsthand what that would mean, he was breaking down and describing it as unbearable.

Their engagement was not immediately over, though Natalie's father had started to make some preliminary plans for the wedding and for how her dowry would be handled. By the time, Bob apparently decided he was not up for this after all, and he doesn't seem to have formally told her that it was over. She soon learned from friends, though, that he had married Amanda Drexel Fell known as Many in January of nineteen hundred.

Their engagement was not immediately over, though Natalie's father had started to make some preliminary plans for the wedding and for how her dowry would be handled. By the time, Bob apparently decided he was not up for this after all, and he doesn't seem to have formally told her that it was over. She soon learned from friends, though, that he had married Amanda Drexel Fell known as Many in January of nineteen hundred.

We'll get to some things that were happening simultaneously in Natalie's life. After We paused for a sponsor break.

We'll get to some things that were happening simultaneously in Natalie's life. After We paused for a sponsor break.

In nineteen hundred, when she was twenty three, Natalie Clifford Barney published her first book. This was a chap book length collection of poetry called kilk portraits sont de femme or some portrait Sonnets of Women. This had four illustrations that were created by her mother, Alice. There are a bunch of accounts that say that Alice didn't know that these were love poems to women. I kind of feel like that was only really possible if she just didn't read it, although there were some early reviews of the book that seemed to have been oblivious to that aspect of it. A number of these poems were dedicated to specific women, although only by their initials. Those women included Natalie's first love, Eva Palmer, and Pauline Tarn, who wrote sapphic poetry under the pen named Rene Vivien. We have not mentioned Pauline yet, but she and Natalie had started seeing one another in eighteen ninety nine. There was also one to actor Sarah Bernhardt, following her appearance in the role of Napoleon. The second in the play leglo.

In nineteen hundred, when she was twenty three, Natalie Clifford Barney published her first book. This was a chap book length collection of poetry called kilk portraits sont de femme or some portrait Sonnets of Women. This had four illustrations that were created by her mother, Alice. There are a bunch of accounts that say that Alice didn't know that these were love poems to women. I kind of feel like that was only really possible if she just didn't read it, although there were some early reviews of the book that seemed to have been oblivious to that aspect of it. A number of these poems were dedicated to specific women, although only by their initials. Those women included Natalie's first love, Eva Palmer, and Pauline Tarn, who wrote sapphic poetry under the pen named Rene Vivien. We have not mentioned Pauline yet, but she and Natalie had started seeing one another in eighteen ninety nine. There was also one to actor Sarah Bernhardt, following her appearance in the role of Napoleon. The second in the play leglo.

In the words of a Washington Post article on Natalie and her sister Laura that was published eleven years later, quote, those poems scandalized Washington. They were written in French. The French was very good, but the tone of the verse was very unconventional. According to Barney, at some point a New York City gossip magazine called Town Topics the Journal of Society published an article about this book that was called Sappho Sings in Washington.

In the words of a Washington Post article on Natalie and her sister Laura that was published eleven years later, quote, those poems scandalized Washington. They were written in French. The French was very good, but the tone of the verse was very unconventional. According to Barney, at some point a New York City gossip magazine called Town Topics the Journal of Society published an article about this book that was called Sappho Sings in Washington.

This magazine really existed, and Barney mentioned this article and the furor that it caused a number of times in her own writing, but biographer Suzanne Rodriguez, author of Wild Heart, Natalie Clifford Barney and the Decadence of Literary Paris, was not able to find an actual copy of it. At some point, though, Natalie's father, Albert, read the article and was outraged and bordered a ship to Europe, where he stormed the publisher's office in Paris and demanded to buy all the remaining copies of the book and the printing plates so that he could destroy them.

This magazine really existed, and Barney mentioned this article and the furor that it caused a number of times in her own writing, but biographer Suzanne Rodriguez, author of Wild Heart, Natalie Clifford Barney and the Decadence of Literary Paris, was not able to find an actual copy of it. At some point, though, Natalie's father, Albert, read the article and was outraged and bordered a ship to Europe, where he stormed the publisher's office in Paris and demanded to buy all the remaining copies of the book and the printing plates so that he could destroy them.

Then he shamed his wife for her having been involved with it.

Then he shamed his wife for her having been involved with it.

Alice was initially disgusted and horrified at the realization of what this book was about and what that meant about her daughter. She eventually seems to have come to see her daughter's sexuality as part of who she was, but their relationship was always really complicated after this, and it also seems like Alice felt conflicted about it for the rest of her life. Like twenty years later, when Alice was in the middle of some drama of her own, she was supposed to stay with Natalie in Paris for a while, but after they had a series of arguments, Alice abruptly changed her mind, and she said outright that she disapproved of Natalie and that staying with her at her house would make it seem otherwise.

Alice was initially disgusted and horrified at the realization of what this book was about and what that meant about her daughter. She eventually seems to have come to see her daughter's sexuality as part of who she was, but their relationship was always really complicated after this, and it also seems like Alice felt conflicted about it for the rest of her life. Like twenty years later, when Alice was in the middle of some drama of her own, she was supposed to stay with Natalie in Paris for a while, but after they had a series of arguments, Alice abruptly changed her mind, and she said outright that she disapproved of Natalie and that staying with her at her house would make it seem otherwise.

In spite of her parents' reactions and the fact that some of her society friends back in Washington d C cut ties with her, Natalie kept living her life in the way that she wanted to live it. In addition to her relationship with her mother's art model Carmen Rossi, in eighteen ninety nine, she had started seeing Cortizon Leande de Pougee. Natalie had seen Leanne while driving in a carriage with a male friend, and she had been instantly captivated, she bought a page costume and went to visit her, saying that she was a page of love sent by Sappho.

In spite of her parents' reactions and the fact that some of her society friends back in Washington d C cut ties with her, Natalie kept living her life in the way that she wanted to live it. In addition to her relationship with her mother's art model Carmen Rossi, in eighteen ninety nine, she had started seeing Cortizon Leande de Pougee. Natalie had seen Leanne while driving in a carriage with a male friend, and she had been instantly captivated, she bought a page costume and went to visit her, saying that she was a page of love sent by Sappho.

These two women gave very different accounts of how this was received in each of their written works. In Leanne de Pougee's Idel Safique, Barney was frivolous and worshipful, but in Barney's memoir Secret, she told Depougee that she should stop being a cortisan, and Depouge was so insulted by this that she demanded that Barney leave. This was a case where like Barney supported the idea of a woman's autonomy over her own body, but Depugie's work as a courtisan, especially with male clients, really bothered her, and she kept trying to get her to stop.

These two women gave very different accounts of how this was received in each of their written works. In Leanne de Pougee's Idel Safique, Barney was frivolous and worshipful, but in Barney's memoir Secret, she told Depougee that she should stop being a cortisan, and Depouge was so insulted by this that she demanded that Barney leave. This was a case where like Barney supported the idea of a woman's autonomy over her own body, but Depugie's work as a courtisan, especially with male clients, really bothered her, and she kept trying to get her to stop.

Barney wrote her memoir Secret in the nineteen forties and did not publish them, but leand de Pouge published her Idel Safique in nineteen oh one, and this novel is often described as a thinly veiled autobiography, and it's one of a number of thinly veiled autobiographies that Natalie Clifford Barney would either feature in or write herself during her lifetime. Leand de Pougie was a famous courtisan and this book was scandalous, so of course it was also a bestseller. People in Paris knew that the rich American woman depicted in the book was Natalie Clifford Barney. She started to develop a reputation as a notorious pursuer of women. Her relationship with Pauline Tarn also known as poet Rene Vivier, started in nineteen hundred when it came to things like that their love of poetry, they were really well matched. Although it is generally agreed, including by me, Rene Vivier was a much better poet than Natalie Clifford Barney was. Beyond that, though, their differences caused some challenges in their relationship. Natalie was such a socialite and she loved to go to parties and play host and make friends, but Pauline was almost reclusive. At one point, they took a trip to Maine together and Pauline apparently intentionally did not bring any gowns with her, which were required to go to the formal dinners in the evenings on the ship. That way, shouldn't have to go to those dinners. She also skipped a lot of the social events in bar Harbor, which were things that Natalie was genuinely excited about going to. Natalie also disliked drugs and alcohol after her experiences growing up with her father, and she avoided them, but that was not the case for Pauline. On the nights when she didn't go to those formal dinner she spent dinner time alone in her stateroom taking sedatives.

Barney wrote her memoir Secret in the nineteen forties and did not publish them, but leand de Pouge published her Idel Safique in nineteen oh one, and this novel is often described as a thinly veiled autobiography, and it's one of a number of thinly veiled autobiographies that Natalie Clifford Barney would either feature in or write herself during her lifetime. Leand de Pougie was a famous courtisan and this book was scandalous, so of course it was also a bestseller. People in Paris knew that the rich American woman depicted in the book was Natalie Clifford Barney. She started to develop a reputation as a notorious pursuer of women. Her relationship with Pauline Tarn also known as poet Rene Vivier, started in nineteen hundred when it came to things like that their love of poetry, they were really well matched. Although it is generally agreed, including by me, Rene Vivier was a much better poet than Natalie Clifford Barney was. Beyond that, though, their differences caused some challenges in their relationship. Natalie was such a socialite and she loved to go to parties and play host and make friends, but Pauline was almost reclusive. At one point, they took a trip to Maine together and Pauline apparently intentionally did not bring any gowns with her, which were required to go to the formal dinners in the evenings on the ship. That way, shouldn't have to go to those dinners. She also skipped a lot of the social events in bar Harbor, which were things that Natalie was genuinely excited about going to. Natalie also disliked drugs and alcohol after her experiences growing up with her father, and she avoided them, but that was not the case for Pauline. On the nights when she didn't go to those formal dinner she spent dinner time alone in her stateroom taking sedatives.

Pauline was one of the people who didn't wind up liking Natalie having other partners, and then Natalie also felt threatened by a relationship that Pauline started with baroness Ellen von Zuilin de Nuivel sometime in nineteen oh one. They went through a series of jealousies and breakups and reconnections, getting back together in nineteen oh four and taking a trip to Midelini on the island of Lesbos to explore the possibility of starting a women's colony there, inspired by Sappho's school. Eventually they broke up for good, but they remained friends afterward.

Pauline was one of the people who didn't wind up liking Natalie having other partners, and then Natalie also felt threatened by a relationship that Pauline started with baroness Ellen von Zuilin de Nuivel sometime in nineteen oh one. They went through a series of jealousies and breakups and reconnections, getting back together in nineteen oh four and taking a trip to Midelini on the island of Lesbos to explore the possibility of starting a women's colony there, inspired by Sappho's school. Eventually they broke up for good, but they remained friends afterward.

Sometimes Natalie Clifford Barney is framed as having been immensely cruel toward Pauline tarn driving her to try to take her own life. Their relationship was definitely tumultuous, but Tarn also had a rich creative life, publishing multiple volumes of poetry and prose between nineteen oh one. When her romance relationship sort of ended with Barney in nineteen oh eight, they got back together briefly in nineteen oh four.

Sometimes Natalie Clifford Barney is framed as having been immensely cruel toward Pauline tarn driving her to try to take her own life. Their relationship was definitely tumultuous, but Tarn also had a rich creative life, publishing multiple volumes of poetry and prose between nineteen oh one. When her romance relationship sort of ended with Barney in nineteen oh eight, they got back together briefly in nineteen oh four.

Her long term.

Her long term.

Relationship with Helen ended in nineteen oh seven when Helene left her for another woman. Turn tried to take her own life in nineteen oh eight, and then she died in nineteen oh nine at the age of thirty two after a serious illness that was influenced by both heavy drug use and anarexia.

Relationship with Helen ended in nineteen oh seven when Helene left her for another woman. Turn tried to take her own life in nineteen oh eight, and then she died in nineteen oh nine at the age of thirty two after a serious illness that was influenced by both heavy drug use and anarexia.

Along with her mother and sister Natalie Clifford, Barney is sometimes also blamed for contributing to her father's death. Albert had been noticeably unwell as early as eighteen ninety nine, and he had a heart attack in nineteen oh two. This is actually his second heart attack, and it was not long after getting into a dispute with Alice and Laura over their involvement with the Bahai Faith. He went to Europe to try to recuperate from this heart attack in some of its health spots. Honestly, this seems like a bad idea to me, because that put him a lot closer to the dress of all the gossip about Natalie and her life in Paris. He eventually developed pleurisy there and got too sick to be able to make the voyage home, and he died in Monte Carlo after another heart attack. Later on that year.

Along with her mother and sister Natalie Clifford, Barney is sometimes also blamed for contributing to her father's death. Albert had been noticeably unwell as early as eighteen ninety nine, and he had a heart attack in nineteen oh two. This is actually his second heart attack, and it was not long after getting into a dispute with Alice and Laura over their involvement with the Bahai Faith. He went to Europe to try to recuperate from this heart attack in some of its health spots. Honestly, this seems like a bad idea to me, because that put him a lot closer to the dress of all the gossip about Natalie and her life in Paris. He eventually developed pleurisy there and got too sick to be able to make the voyage home, and he died in Monte Carlo after another heart attack. Later on that year.

Albert Barney left an estate with a value of about nine million dollars to be held in trust, with the income from it to be divided evenly among his wife and two daughters. That made all three of these women independently wealthy, which of course changed all of their lives considerably.

Albert Barney left an estate with a value of about nine million dollars to be held in trust, with the income from it to be divided evenly among his wife and two daughters. That made all three of these women independently wealthy, which of course changed all of their lives considerably.

And we will be talking about that more in our next episode. And before, listener, mail, I have a correction because the pup couple of people have pointed out that in our episode on Emily Warren Roebling, I say she died in eighteen ninety three, and then I also we also say she died in nineteen oh three. Nineteen oh three is the cre I tried to go figure out, how did I make that mistake, because that's not even like a typo, that's a fully different century. I don't know how I made that error. Yes, Emily Warren Robeling died in nineteen oh three, not eighteen ninety three, and I got it in there two different times because at like I put eighteen ninety three there for some reason, I don't know why, and then I picked up that same wrong year later on in the episode. So sorry about that. Listener mail we have is from Eva, and Eva wrote to say, I just listened to The Mourning Dove behind the scenes that I somehow missed when it aired, and I heard highly speculate about other vendors called book barn in the Northeast. So you probably got lots of mail about all the book barns in the Northeast. I figured there are worse things to get lots of mail about, so I wanted to mention book Barn of the finger Lakes and dry in New York, which is an old actual barn that was converted into a labyrinthine bookstore that has been around for many decades, and it brags it has three hundred categories of books. If you're ever passing through Dryden, it's a trip. And then Eva sent a link to a video on YouTube about the book Barn of the finger Lakes and Dryed in New York. We did get a couple of emails about various book barns. I liked this one in particular because like the crowded, very tall shelves reminded me of a couple of used bookstores that I have been in in my life. I have a fondness for them, and this one in particular, I was like, Oh, I can sort of imagine myself in there, even though I have never been to that particular bookstore before. So thank you so much for that email and the link to the video. I did not watch all of it, but I did watch part of it. If you would like to send us a note about this or any other podcast, or at history podcast at iHeartRadio dot com, and we are on social media at miss in History, and you can subscribe to our show on the iHeartRadio app and wherever else you'd like to get your podcasts. Stuff you missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

And we will be talking about that more in our next episode. And before, listener, mail, I have a correction because the pup couple of people have pointed out that in our episode on Emily Warren Roebling, I say she died in eighteen ninety three, and then I also we also say she died in nineteen oh three. Nineteen oh three is the cre I tried to go figure out, how did I make that mistake, because that's not even like a typo, that's a fully different century. I don't know how I made that error. Yes, Emily Warren Robeling died in nineteen oh three, not eighteen ninety three, and I got it in there two different times because at like I put eighteen ninety three there for some reason, I don't know why, and then I picked up that same wrong year later on in the episode. So sorry about that. Listener mail we have is from Eva, and Eva wrote to say, I just listened to The Mourning Dove behind the scenes that I somehow missed when it aired, and I heard highly speculate about other vendors called book barn in the Northeast. So you probably got lots of mail about all the book barns in the Northeast. I figured there are worse things to get lots of mail about, so I wanted to mention book Barn of the finger Lakes and dry in New York, which is an old actual barn that was converted into a labyrinthine bookstore that has been around for many decades, and it brags it has three hundred categories of books. If you're ever passing through Dryden, it's a trip. And then Eva sent a link to a video on YouTube about the book Barn of the finger Lakes and Dryed in New York. We did get a couple of emails about various book barns. I liked this one in particular because like the crowded, very tall shelves reminded me of a couple of used bookstores that I have been in in my life. I have a fondness for them, and this one in particular, I was like, Oh, I can sort of imagine myself in there, even though I have never been to that particular bookstore before. So thank you so much for that email and the link to the video. I did not watch all of it, but I did watch part of it. If you would like to send us a note about this or any other podcast, or at history podcast at iHeartRadio dot com, and we are on social media at miss in History, and you can subscribe to our show on the iHeartRadio app and wherever else you'd like to get your podcasts. Stuff you missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.