The Enduring Love Story of Alice B. Toklas and Gertrude Stein

The love story of Alice B. Toklas and Gertrude Stein is one of the most enduring and influential partnerships in literary and artistic history. Their relationship spanned nearly four decades, from their meeting in Paris in 1907 until Stein’s death in 1946.

Alice B. Toklas arrived in Paris on September 8, 1907, and on her very first day, she met Gertrude Stein. The connection was immediate and profound. Toklas later described Stein as a “golden brown presence,” her voice “deep, full, velvety like a great contralto’s, like two voices.” They fell instantly in love and remained inseparable.

Their home at 27 rue de Fleurus became the legendary salon of the Parisian avant-garde. It was a hub where leading figures of modernism in literature and art, such as Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and many others, gathered for conversation, intellectual exchange, and to view Stein and her brother Leo's impressive art collection.

While Gertrude Stein was the renowned writer and public figure, Alice B. Toklas was the indispensable partner behind the scenes. Toklas acted as Stein's confidante, lover, cook, secretary, typist, editor, and muse. She meticulously managed their household, typed Stein’s manuscripts, and provided the domestic tranquility that allowed Stein to focus on her groundbreaking work. Their affection was evident in the notes they left for each other around the house, signed “DD” (Darling Darling) and “YD” (Your Darling), and their nicknames “Lovey” and “Baby.”

In 1933, Stein published her most commercially successful work, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas. This unique book was written by Stein but narrated in Toklas’s voice, offering a witty and insightful account of their shared life and the vibrant artistic circles they inhabited. The book brought international recognition to both women.

Their bond remained strong through significant historical events, including both World Wars. During World War I, they volunteered to deliver hospital supplies for the American Fund for French Wounded, driving across France in a Ford they affectionately named “Auntie.” They also survived the German occupation of Paris during World War II, a testament to their resilience and the protection afforded by their connections.

Their nearly four-decade-long partnership ended with Gertrude Stein’s death in 1946 from stomach cancer. According to Toklas, Stein’s final words were, “What is the answer?” and then, when no reply came, “In that case, what is the question?” After Stein’s death, Toklas continued to live in their shared home and dedicated herself to preserving and promoting Stein’s literary legacy. Toklas also became a published author in her own right, most famously with The Alice B. Toklas Cook Book (1954), which notably included a recipe for hashish fudge.

In the 1980s, a cabinet in the Yale University Beinecke Library, which had been locked for an indeterminate number of years, was opened and found to contain some 300 love letters written by Stein and Toklas. They were made public for the first time, revealing intimate details of their relationship. Stein’s endearment for Toklas was “Baby Precious,” in turn Stein was for Toklas, “Mr. Cuddle-Wuddle.”