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2 Mad about Her Eva and her mother were not the only foreigners flocking to France. Soon after the Universal Exhibition of 1900, Paris suddenly became the premiere school of Europe, the acknowledged center ofintellectual, cultural , and artistic activity. Cezanne, Picasso, and Miro came from Spain, Chagall, Nijinsky, and Diaghileff from Russia, Gertrude Stein from America, and Modigliani from Italy. In 1903 King Edward VII of England paid his first state visit to France and helped form a new AngloFrench alliance. Greeting these guests was a new bridge crossing the Seine, the impressive Pont Alexandre III, as well as two great buildings of the Exhibition, the Grand and the Petit Palais des Beaux Arts. These years before 1914, when Eva lived in Paris, are often called "La Belle Epoque." They were glorious, brilliant, exciting years. Sarah Bernhardt was performing in Camille andL:M.~lon. Toulouse-Lautrec was immortalizing the music hall world with his posters and canvases. The Moulin Rouge and Folies Bergere were attracting local, as well as curious, foreign, crowds. Little cafes in Montmartre, like Lapin Agile, attracted writers-Anatole France, Verlaine, Mallarme, and Gide-and there, such artists as Manet, Seurat, Degas, and Renoir argued their latest theories on impressionism andsymbolism. The popular Maxim's restaurant on the Rue Royale offered discreet rooms for guests to dine in private with their courtesans. There were other highlights. The first Metro line opened in 1900. Marie and Pierre Curie were awarded the Nobel Prize and made their world-shaking discovery of radium. Louis Lumiere produced color film and furthered the popularity of moving pictures, and Louis Bleriot flew the English channel, inspiring many Frenchmen to become pioneer pilots. The bicycle, now within the purchasing power of the masses, led to the the annual Tour de France, and Louis Renault founded the great automobile factory. It was only natural that Julie Le Gallienne would move to Paris. She wanted to start over, away from the memories ofher husband, but 24 25 / Mad about Her she also wanted to live in a bustling, artistic atmosphere. Paris was the perfect answer. Their first home was an apartment on the fifth floor at 60 Rue de Vaugirard. Low-ceilinged but spacious, it consisted of six rooms, with a large area on the courtyard doubling as the kitchen and dining ro0111. The street was in the heart ofthe Fauborg St. Germain area ofthe Left Bank. Such expatriate, artistic women as Natalie Barney, Edith Wharton, Gertrude Stein, Isadora Duncan, and Colette settled here. Later labeled "the Left Bank of Lesbos," by 1900 the neighborhood had an international reputation as a haven for lesbians. Because the Napoleonic Code did not address homosexuality, such life styles were not banned by law and were a dominant element ofthe culture. As one salon hostess commented, '1\.U the noteworthy women are doing it."l In the fashionably risque salons, women ofthe demimonde mixed with royalty. While homosexual men appeared in rouge and wigs, the women sported tuxedos with monocles tucked in their pockets. As Eva witnessed this liberal behavior in her early years on the Left Bank, she also learned that the general community viewed lesbians as men trapped in female bodies. When a woman was discovered as being lesbian, she was usually advised to seek a cure for her pathological drives. The private salons seemed to allow safety from embarrassing public exposure. The best part about their new lodging on the Rue de Vaugirard was its proximity to the Luxembourg Gardens. Nearly every day, Nanny walked her charge through the park, which ,vas always filled with children floating their toy boats around the artificial lake and rolling hoops with bells. Nurses, wearing long capes and starched white caps, pushed perambulators down the long, flower-bordered walks and sat on benches under the majestic chestnut trees. IfEva was good during the day, Nanny bought her flavored soda water or licorice from one ofthe candy booths. They often walked through the gardens into the Petit Luxembourg and down the boulevard Saint-Michel, where they stopped at a pastry shop for acake or praline ice. On special occasions they hired a horse-drawn coach to return them to their apartment. Eva's mother managed to eke out a very frugal living. She translated and continued writing newspaper articles for Politi/un. Fortunately , Nanny agreed to work for over a year without pay. But regardless of the strenuous life Julie was facing, she never regretted leaving her husband. Richard was "always very...

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