For writer Gertrude Stein, it was a return to the country of her birth. She was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania in 1874, but moved to Paris in 1903 where she lived the rest of her life.

On October 24, 1934, Stein and her longtime companion Alice B. Toklas disembarked from the S. S. Champlain in New York City for what would be a six-month lecture tour.  The visit was highly publicized, with Stein gaining instant celebrity status.  She soon had a slew of requests to speak, giving 74 lectures in all during her American tour.

Some commented on Stein’s masculine shoes and Robin Hood-style hat, while others were surprised she could speak in complete sentences (since her writing was difficult to understand). Word of her visit moved quickly, even to Virginia.

More about that tomorrow.