The Cramoisy Queen

“Caresse Crosby . . . was a major influence on much of the most important writing in English produced in the twentieth century, and as such fully warrants this biography that succeeds so assiduously in avoiding mere hyperbole to tell the story of a most unusual, talented, brilliant woman.”—The Literary Review

"The Cramoisy Queen is a great page-turning read. Caresse Crosby is a larger-than-life character, and Linda Hamalian retells her life in a way that's gossipy and erudite, informative and thought-provoking. How did the inventor of the brassiere come to be  - among other things - a free-loving flapper, a patron of the arts, a poet, a publisher of exquisite books by the great writers of her era, and a determined activist for world peace? Hamalian's beautifully written portrait of an artist as a young woman, as a midlife widow, and as a feisty old lady needs to be savored for inspiration as a widow into the questions we're still asking about what women want and how they can get it."—Emily Toth, biographer, and author of Kate Chopin, Unveiling Kate Chopin, and Inside Peyton Place: The Life of Grace Metalious.

"Better than reading Fitzgerald, for the dazzling and complicated world of artists and expats in the twenties and thirties, Linda Hamalian's The Cramoisy Queen also guides us through the post-World War II forties, the fifties, and the swinging sixties to follow the escapades that accompanied Caresse Crosby's life at Black Sun Press and beyond. A web connecting the rich and famous, including the idealistic search of so many artists for world peace, is beautifully woven in this meticulously researched biography."—Diane Wakoski, author of more than twenty collections of poetry, including, The Butcher's Apron