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Black and white photo of the front of an apartment building with the words Barbizon Hotel on the awning. A woman carrying a stack of papers is walking away from the front door.

Episode 77: The Barbizon Hotel

Episode #77

2023-11-01 05:00:11

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In its early days, the magazine Mademoiselle positioned itself as “the magazine for smart young women.” It published work by Truman Capote, Albert Camus, and Flannery O’Connor. Each summer, the magazine selected 20 women from colleges around the country to come to New York and work as guest editors. For housing, they were put up in a women-only hotel at East 63rd and Lexington Avenue: The Barbizon Hotel. Historian Paulina Bren says: “The Barbizon was a sanctuary.”

Paulina Bren’s book is The Barbizon: The Hotel That Set Women Free.