Three Lives

A generation of young American writers including Hemingway were greatly affected by the literary theories of American expat Gertrude Stein (1874–1966) and her theories on writing continue to provoke and stimulate.Although she frequently experiments with language and sound in her own writing this book is more conventional in style and quite approachable. Three Lives Stein's debut novel was hailed by some critics as a minor masterpiece. In it she recounts the tales of three working-class women: Lena a kind but feeble-minded maid; Melanctha a worldly-wise and sensitive black girl; and Anna an obedient but rigid serving woman.