Josephine Baker: Fearless and Free

This is the iconic Josephine Baker in her own words.

Funny, candid and unconventional: the wildly famous but elusive Josephine Baker tells her own story in this enchanting memoir. Baker took Paris by storm in the 1920s, dazzling audiences with her humour, beauty and effervescence on stage. She became an icon. Hemingway, Cocteau and Picasso admired her; Shirley Bassey adored her. It was said she strolled the streets of Paris with her pet cheetah who wore a diamond collar.

Later, as one of the most recognisable women in the world, she became a spy for the French resistance, her celebrity working as her cover. She was awarded the Légion d’honneur for military service. After the war she became increasingly interested in civil rights, and in 1963 she spoke at the March on Washington alongside Martin Luther King. All this from a girl of mixed heritage, born in Missouri to a poor mother and a father she did not know.

Formed from a series of conversations with the French journalist Marcel Sauvage over a period of more than twenty years, and now translated into English for the first time, this gorgeous book offers an insight into one of the most beguiling figures of the twentieth century.

‘The most sensational woman anyone ever saw’ Ernest Hemingway

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY IJEOMA OLUO

TRANSLATED BY ANAM ZAFAR AND SOPHIE LEWIS

Review

This gorgeous, captivating gem of a memoir will both introduce Baker to a new generation of readers, and cement her legacy as an enduring international icon -- Abbott Kahler

A vivid impression of her ebullient personality, extravagant love for animals, and overflowing generosity ― Kirkus

As with Bob Dylan’s Chronicles, its joy lies in its distinctive voice… it feels like the closest you are going to come with an audio with the woman… Baker was no saint, but this book leaves you with no doubt about her unique power ― The Times

[Baker] skips across her life, never dwelling on hardship, with an imaginative joie de vivre that offers a real glimpse of her presence…. She was a beacon of joy and fellowship and her smile…reaches out to us across the years ― Financial Times

About the Author

Josephine Baker (Author)
Josephine Baker was born in 1906, in St Louis, Missouri. After performing in New York during the Harlem Renaissance as a teenager, she sailed to Paris in 1925 at the age of 19. She became a star there during the 20s, achieving international celebrity. In 1927 she became the first black woman to star in a major motion picture.

When the Second World War broke out Baker joined the French intelligence agency and was awarded for her bravery. During the 50s and 60s she became involved in the civil rights movement - in 1963 she spoke at the March on Washington alongside Martin Luther King. In later life she adopted twelve children. Baker died in 1975.

Anam Zafar (Translator)
Anam Zafar is a UK-based translator from Arabic and French to English. She is the winner of a PEN Translates award, the Gulf Coast Prize in Translation and the Stinging Fly New Translator’s Bursary.

Sophie Lewis (Translator)
Sophie Lewis translates from French and Portuguese. She has translated books by Stendhal, Marcel Aymé, Violette Leduc, Leïla Slimani, Noémi Lefebvre and Nastassja Martin, as well as Patrícia Melo, Victor Heringer and Sheyla Smanioto.