Three Lives

2012 Reprint of 1909 Edition. "Three Lives" (1909) was Gertrude Stein's first published work. The book is divided into three stories, "The Good Anna," "Melanctha," and "The Gentle Lena." The three stories are independent of each other, but all are set in the fictional town of Bridgepoint. Each one is a psychological portrait of the named protagonist. All three are members of the lower socioeconomic stratum of Bridgepoint. Stein had dropped out of Johns Hopkins Medical School before graduating, but not before completing her third year of training. She was particularly interested in psychology and had been a student of William James when she was an undergraduate. These three stories are detailed psychological characterizations of the three characters.