Sylvia Beach

Sylvia Beach is a queer American woman who moves to Paris shortly after the end of World War I. When she arrives in the French capitol, she meets Adrienne Monnier and integrates into the group of artists and expatriates who visit Madame Monnier’s bookstore. While her unrequited love for Adrienne weighs on her psyche, Sylvia dedicates herself to the goal of opening an English language bookstore in Paris. With the help of her mother, and Adrienne, Sylvia opens Shakespeare and Company, and begins distributing English literature to the French community and fostering relationships with other artists. Eventually she and Adrienne begin a romantic relationship.

Later on in the novel, Sylvia offers to publish James Joyce’s novel, Ulysses, after it is listed as a banned book in the United States. She believes that the book could have significant cultural implications, shift literary norms, and enact social...