Three Lives

"Three Lives" (1909) was Gertrude Stein's first published work of fiction. The book is comprised of three tales -- two short stories: "The Good Anna," and "The Gentle Lena"; and the novella. "Melanctha." Each one is a portrait of the title character and all of the women are members of the lower class living in a fictional town called Bridgepoint. Anna is a German immigrant who keeps house for Miss Mathilda and falls in love with another woman, Mrs. Lehntman. Lena is also a German woman who marries badly and dies in childbirth. Melanctha is a mulatto woman with unhappy love affairs. All three, however, face their various disappointments and their lots in life with resignation and acceptance.Stein, Gertrude is the author of 'Three Lives', published 2007 under ISBN 9781426494987 and ISBN 142649498X.