Interesting topic, but the encyclopedia writing style makes it a chore to read. ( )

The Barbizon Hotel for Women was built in 1927 and was one of a few places in New York where women could come and have a safe haven to stay, whether just for a visit or long-term. Bren illuminates the influence of the hotel, spending much of her time talking about the 1940s and 1950s, and the models and guest editors for Mademoiselle who stayed there at that time.

Bren clearly did a lot of research, and I could see that the Barbizon was a fascinating place, as were the women who stayed and lived there. However, my interests and the authors didn't really align in what she chose to focus on, particularly giving details about the Powers models, the Katie Gibbs typing school, and especially Mademoiselle magazine. The book is as much about women's history of education and career as it is about the hotel itself. Bren also spends most of her time talking about famous people who stayed there, such as Sylvia Plath, and I would have liked to see more about the Women, the regular folks who lived there through the many changes the hotel went through. Later chapters then rush through many decades and finally end when the Barbizon was converted into condos. I can't really fault Bren for having different interests than me, but it affected my enjoyment for sure. ( )

In the Roaring Twenties, a residential hotel for women opened in Manhattan. Located at 140 East 63rd Street near Lexington Avenue, the Barbizon had twenty-three floors and seven-hundred-and-twenty rooms. Its amenities included maid service, exercise rooms, a pool, dining room, laundry facilities, and a doorman. Although such luminaries as Joan Crawford, Rita Hayworth, Grace Kelly, Sylvia Plath, and Joan Didion stayed at the Barbizon at one time or another, less renowned guests—aspiring actresses, dancers, nurses, fashion models, secretaries, and writers—rented rooms there as well. These women were eager to assert their independence, follow their dreams, and in some cases, find a husband and settle down. Paulina Bren, who has a PhD in history, offers a thoroughly researched account of this iconic residence.

The author takes us on a journey, starting from the Jazz Age, when flappers "dumped the corset, drank, smoked, flirted, and worse." World War I and women's suffrage gave females more options, and they took full advantage of the opportunity to go a little wild. Bren moves on to Prohibition, with its illegal booze, hundreds of speakeasies, flamboyance, and decadence. During the Great Depression, jobs were no longer plentiful, and without work, a girl could end up homeless. Fortunately, Katherine Gibbs established a secretarial school that afforded women who lived in the Barbizon exemplary training for respectable positions. Meanwhile John Powers and Eileen Ford started modeling agencies and invited attractive ladies to sign up with them. The fifties were a shock to the system; for many this was a decade of invisibility and loneliness.

The introduction and conclusion of "The Barbizon" are splendid. Bren discusses the Barbizon's unique qualities, and also traces the societal changes that would culminate in the Woman's and Civil Rights movements, revolutions that were the beginning of the end for the Barbizon. In the book's middle sections, Bren goes into too much detail, regaling us with repetitive and lackluster anecdotes that make for a tough slog. Still, "The Barbizon" has a strong central theme—that this iconic building, which in 2007 was finally converted into luxury condominiums, helped facilitate the efforts of hundreds of young women to explore and express their authentic selves. For the lucky ones, life in New York was a fairy tale come true; for the less fortunate, New York's glitz and glamour did not shield them from crippling insecurity and crushing disappointment. ( )

Great hotel boring book. Very contrived. Only read the first chapter. ( )