Women Lit and Sausalito Books by the Bay Present: Coming of Age in the Paris of the West with Jasmin Darznik

Join Sausalito Books by the Bay’s Cheryl Popp and New York Times bestselling novelist Jasmin Darznik for a journey back in time to 1920s San Francisco: a wild, glamorously gritty era of illicit speakeasies and artists’ colonies, full of rule-breaking women who happen to be trailblazing artists. The Bohemians—one of Oprah’s picks for Best Historical Fiction of 2021—transports us to the Sutter Street portrait studio of a young Dorothea Lange, the legendary documentary photographer whose Great Depression images would sear themselves into the country’s collective consciousness just a decade later.

For Lange, San Francisco is the Jewel City, “a place where everything—absolutely anything—could happen, and probably was happening at this very moment. A place you could disappear into if you dared.” Darznik indelibly conjures Lange’s world and relationships, especially her transformative, volatile friendship with Caroline Lee, a Chinese-American woman who initiates her into the heart of the city’s bohemian arts scene. When a betrayal alters the world of these two friends, their lives—and their work—will never be the same.

Set in a San Francisco that feels both exotically bygone and eerily familiar—rocked by anti-immigrant sentiment, political corruption, and a devastating pandemic—The Bohemians unforgettably dramatizes the awakening of an iconic artist. This novel, and this live in-person conversation, is for everyone trying to define themselves, find their purpose, and rise to the occasion while weathering a surreal era of living history.

In the interest of public health and safety, all attendees must be fully vaccinated. Upon entry, you will be asked for proof of vaccination (either with a physical vaccination card, or a digital version on your phone).