Dear Sammy: Letters from Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas

Half of this small book is Steward's memoir of his acquaintance with Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. His account of two summer visits to their home in Bilignin during the 1930s depicts with some charm the daily life of the pair who have remained, despite their public life, so distinctly private. The rest of the book is given to the letters Steward received from Stein between 1933 and 1946 and from Toklas between 1946 and 1963. Stein's letters, mostly affectionate, encouraging notes, present nothing new. Of the longer and more chatty Toklas letters, the most interesting have already appeared in Edward Burns' Staying on Alone and all could stand excision of the opening ""thanks for the lovely gift"" paragraph. (Steward seems to have been admirably attentive to his aging friend.) Nevertheless, Stein-Toklas buffs will welcome Steward's slim, rather self-defensive book for the glimpse it gives of a hearty, generous Miss Stein and a poignantly gallant Miss Toklas. (Kirkus Reviews)