Lorenzo in Taos by Mabel Dodge Luhan

In September, 1922, the internationally known British writer D. H. Lawrence arrived with his wife, Frieda, at the railroad station in Lamy, New Mexico. They had traveled from Australia to San Francisco, then onward to Taos at the invitation of Mabel Dodge Luhan, the patroness of arts and culture in Taos. It was the beginning of an intense relationship. Mabel, daughter of a well-to-do New York family, had a long history of cultivating arts and letters.

Lawrence encouraged Mabel to write about her own life. Her book, "Lorenzo in Taos," is written loosely in the form of letters to and from D. H. Lawrence, Frieda Lawrence, and Robinson Jeffers, the celebrated poet who had been a guest of Mabel's in Taos. The book is an entertaining account of her relationship with DHL. An important work, its reprinting is welcomed by scholars and those of us who have come to respect her contributions to the literary world. Initially, Luhan earned fame for her friendships with artists, writers, etc. at her salon in Greenwich Village. In 1917, weary of society, she moved to remote Taos, New Mexico, then publicized the tiny town's beauty to the world, drawing a steady stream of guests, including artist Georgia O'Keeffe, poet Robinson Jeffers, and authors D. H. Lawrence and Willa Cather. She died in Taos in 1962.  

Genre: Non-Fiction > Biographies & Memoirs