Our hearts were young and gay book

Our Hearts Were Young and Gay is a book by actress Cornelia Otis Skinner and journalist Emily Kimbrough, published in The book presents a description of their European tour in the s, when they were fresh out of college from Bryn Mawr. Actress Cornelia Otis Skinner and journalist Emily Kimbrough offer a lighthearted, hilarious memoir of their European tour in the s, when they were fresh out of college from Bryn Mawr.

OUR HEARTS WERE YOUNG AND GAY by CORNELIA OTIS SKINNER AND EMILY KIMBROUGH and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at It's a charming and humorous account of two friends travelling through Europe in the 's, who go through a series of unfortunate events. Had a lot of More LOL moments. OUR HEARTS WERE YOUNG AND GAY by CORNELIA OTIS SKINNER and EMILY KIMBROUGH.

CHAPTER 1: WE had been planning the trip for over a year.

Pinching, scraping and going without sodas, we had salvaged from This description may be from another edition of this product. Buy a cheap copy of Our Hearts Were Young And Gay: An book by Emily Kimbrough. Tess Press. As far as travel memoirs are concerned, this does not fall into the camp of intrepid daring or visiting obscure corners of the earth. This is merely the first of a series of misadventures. The memoir is told in a voice of artful self-deprecation, and the authors have a fond indulgence for their younger selves.

Our Hearts Were Young and Gay is definitely a very funny, very witty book. The tone is reminiscent of E. When I was deciding whether to buy this book having never heard of it before , I read a little of the first page and immediately knew that I was going to get along with it famously. I, clutching and occasionally kissing our steamship passage, was arriving from New York, Emily from Buffalo.

That is, I hoped Emily was arriving. Skinner has a talent for turning herself, Emily, her family and everyone she meets into lively characters who stumble merrily into comic set-pieces. These characters include famous people. For the most part, any dated aspects of the book came across as quaint or fascinating. Less quaint, but important to acknowledge, were the reminders that Cornelia and Emily grew up accustomed to segregated society: the young women gulp a bit when they are seated next to two Senegalese dignitaries during dinner at their Parisian pension.

In and around all the misadventures, Skinner does allow for some more contemplative touches. Published in , its initial readers must have contrasted the exuberance of Paris depicted in the book with the Nazi-occupied Paris, and the peacetime London with the London suffering through the Blitz. Or perhaps for its many readers for it was a popular book , it served as some much needed entertainment and escapism.

Actress Cornelia Otis Skinner

I came across what was probably the most poignant memory I have of the whole episode. Lying on the beach was a young soldier, his arms outstreched. Near one of his hands, as if he had been reading it, was a pocketbook [paperback]. This expressed the spirit of our ordeal. Our hearts were young and gay because we thought we were immortal, we believed we were doing a great thing, and we really believed in the crusade which we hoped would liberate the world from the heel of Nazism.

I feel a little bad for ending this review on such a somber note for what is really a hilarious, laugh-out-loud book, but I definitely think that the context adds to the reading without diminishing its light-hearted spirit. Cornelia Skinner went on to have a career as an actress and writer. Emily Kimbrough had a career in journalism. They celebrate what it is to be young, enthusiastic, and desperate to make an impression.

Not really a review, but a piece reflecting on the book on The Toast. Danielle of A Work in Progress mailed the book to members of her postal reading group. Filed under Uncategorized. I was in a high school play about their ship adventure in high school. This book will always have a special place in my heart.

I could see that. For me, the wit and self-deprecation and apt descriptions hit the spot.