The Barbizon: The Hotel That Set Women Free

Written by Paulina Bren

Narrated by Andi Arndt

A “captivating portrait” (The Wall Street Journal), both “poignant and intriguing” (The New Republic): from award-winning author Paulina Bren comes the remarkable history of New York’s most famous residential hotel and the women who stayed there, including Grace Kelly, Sylvia Plath, and Joan Didion.

Welcome to New York’s legendary hotel for women, the Barbizon.

Liberated after WWI from home and hearth, women flocked to New York City during the Roaring Twenties. But even as women’s residential hotels became the fashion, the Barbizon stood out; it was designed for young women with artistic aspirations, and included soaring art studios and soundproofed practice rooms. More importantly still, with no men allowed beyond the lobby, the Barbizon signaled respectability, a place where a young woman of a certain class could feel at home.

But as the stock market crashed and the Great Depression set in, the clientele changed, though women’s ambitions did not; the Barbizon Hotel became the go-to destination for any young American woman with a dream to be something more. While Sylvia Plath most famously fictionalized her time there in The Bell Jar, the Barbizon was also where Titanic survivor Molly Brown sang her last aria; where Grace Kelly danced topless in the hallways; where Joan Didion got her first taste of Manhattan; and where both Ali MacGraw and Jaclyn Smith found their calling as actresses. Students of the prestigious Katharine Gibbs Secretarial School had three floors to themselves, Eileen Ford used the hotel as a guest house for her youngest models, and Mademoiselle magazine boarded its summer interns there, including a young designer named Betsey Johnson.

The first ever history of this extraordinary hotel, and of the women who arrived in New York City alone from “elsewhere” with a suitcase and a dream, The Barbizon offers readers a multilayered history of New York City in the 20th century, and of the generations of American women torn between their desire for independence and their looming social expiration date. By providing women a room of their own, the Barbizon was the hotel that set them free.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Mar 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9781797119922

Paulina Bren

Paulina Bren is an award-winning historian and a professor at Vassar College, where she teaches international, gender, and media studies. She received a BA from Wesleyan University, an MA in international studies from the University of Washington, and a PhD in history from New York University. She lives in New York with her husband and daughter.

Reviews for The Barbizon

[Tracie McDonnell · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It was a good historical description of the Barbizon and it’s famous inhabitants. I didn’t know anything about Sylvia Plath or Mademoiselle Magazine and the author does spend a fair portion of the first half of the book on that subject matter as well as Plath’s fellow Mademoiselle Magazine Guest Editors that stayed with her at the Barbizon in the 50’s. I also was unaware of the Katie Gibbs school and I appreciated learning about it’s important role. I felt the book did a good job describing the dichotomy between the careers women aspired to after graduating college vs the societal norms and expectations of the time. Feminism is discussed and is an underlying theme of the book but I didn’t feel like I was being preached to. I liked the book, appreciated what I learned and would recommend it if you’re interested in women’s history and the early beginnings of the women’s movement.

[Christina Sulima Ellis · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was the first book chosen by my company book club, and one of the few historical biographies I've ever read, and I loved it! I started The Belle Jar audiobook as soon as I finished The Barbizon, its a fascinating time period in women's history.

[Lara Burke · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very entertaining history of 20th century New York told through the writings and reminiscences of ambitious young women, including some of our most beloved stars and icons.

[Emily Hendricks · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Overall this was really interesting, however some things stuck out to me. Part of the book felt like it was on the history of Madamoiselle and their guest editor program. While the guest editors stayed at the Barbizon, I felt like several chapters focused more on the magazine itself. It also was difficult to keep dates straight when listening to the audio book as I felt like the timeline jumped around, especially when talking about the guest editors and their individual histories. There was also a lot of focus on Sylvia Plath, who based her book, The Bell Jar, on her stay at the Barbizon.

[Michelle Mack · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great History of the building and life of the women that lived there for a moment or their life

This is a history book not fiction