Their sons Patrick and Baoth died of severe illnesses in quick succession in the mid-1930s. In addition to discussing Gerald's short, but promising, career as an artist, Vaill discusses some of the tragedies that marred the Murphys' seemingly charmed life. According to Vaill, the couple moved to Paris partially as a way to get away from their disapproving parents, as well as to take advantage of a favorable exchange rate, and to tap into the burgeoning cultural movement. Vaill begins the biography with the couple's courtship and ends with their later years in the United States after they had moved back to New York so Gerald could take over his father's business. Scott Fitzgerald, the artist Pablo Picasso, and the composer Igor Stravinsky.

As members of this group, which thrived in Paris during the 1920s, the Murphys entertained prominent figures such as the writers Ernest Hemingway and F. Many critics have proclaimed Vaill's study of the Murphys one of the most complete stories of the couple, who were part of a circle of American writers and artists known as the Expatriates, and were part of a larger circle of artists known as the Lost Generation. She left that firm so that she could devote all of her time and efforts to her writing projects, which include her critically lauded debut book, Everybody Was So Young: Gerald and Sara Murphy, a Lost Generation Love Story. SIDELIGHTS:īefore becoming a full-time writer and critic, Amanda Vaill was executive editor for the distinguished publishing company Viking Penguin. Somewhere: The Life of Jerome Robbins, Broadway Books (New York, NY), 2006.Ĭontributor to periodicals, including Esquire, New York, Washington Post, and Chicago Tribune. (With Janet Zapata) Seaman Schepps: A Century of New York Jewelry Design, Vendome Press (New York, NY), 2004.

WRITINGS:Įverybody Was So Young: Gerald and Sara Murphy, a Lost Generation Love Story, Houghton (Boston, MA), 1998. Former executive editor for Viking Penguin.

Everybody Was So Young by Amanda Vaill