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Fearless and Free: A Memoir by Josephine Baker

Fearless and Free is the dazzling, globe-spanning memoir of legendary entertainer, activist, and wartime spy Josephine Baker, published in English in the United States for the very first time. This hardcover edition brings Baker’s unforgettable voice back to center stage: witty, glamorous, defiant, and gloriously alive.

Born into poverty in St. Louis and rising to international fame during the Harlem Renaissance, Baker transformed herself into one of the most iconic performers of the twentieth century. In Paris, she scandalized and enchanted audiences with her groundbreaking performances, signature banana skirt, and fearless embrace of freedom, sexuality, and reinvention. Along the way, she mingled with artists, aristocrats, writers, and revolutionaries while becoming one of the most recognizable women on Earth.

But Fearless and Free reveals far more than glittering cabaret nights and roaring jazz-age decadence. During World War II, Baker risked her life as a spy for the French Résistance, smuggling intelligence hidden in sheet music and costumes while using celebrity as camouflage. Later, she became an outspoken advocate for Civil Rights in the United States, refusing to perform before segregated audiences and standing alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the March on Washington.

Written with warmth, humor, and remarkable intimacy, Baker’s memoir feels less like a formal autobiography and more like late-night conversation backstage after the curtain falls. Her voice crackles with charisma, resilience, and hard-earned wisdom, offering readers an extraordinary portrait of a queer cultural icon who refused to live by anyone else’s rules.

This hardcover edition is essential reading for fans of queer history, Black history, jazz-age culture, feminist memoirs, and unforgettable larger-than-life personalities.

The long-awaited English publication of Josephine Baker’s memoir chronicles her astonishing life as a Harlem Renaissance superstar, Parisian

#Queer Books #Queer Memoirs #Harlem Renaissance #Josephine Baker #Jazz Age

ive been chewing on "Hadestown" casting since that Ask about Eartha Kitt as Persephone (aka rewatching "Black Orpheus" and staring at a wall)

and i hear you on your picks for the cast but i would like to humbly offer this concept on bended knee for judgement. im not very well-versed in older movies, so i do apologize if these are too basic in picks, im still exploring amateurly 💀

Persephone: Eartha Kitt (must be. 100%)

Hades: Vincent Price (i just think hed be fun to watch in the role. idk if he can get his voice low enough, im not fluent in his career, but is love to see him try it at least. like ill take a Ratigan variation of Hades if he truly is incapable of a deeper voice, i think itd be fun to watch him be a more trickster variation of Hades. "The Masque of Red Death" also feels relevant to mention here)

Orpheus: Jimmy Stewart (the fact that "Mr Smith Goes To Washington" made me cry the first time i saw it— especially as a mixed American who grew up disfranchised with the government as early as elementary school?? that was impressive. also "It's A Wonderful Life" feels quite Orpheusy too. i know he isnt FAMOUS as a great singer, but hes fine enough, and i care more about "can you make me cry about the way the world could be? about the way the world is?" anyway. if the Studios truly hate any of my not-famous-for-singing picks, they can always be dubbed i suppose, idfk. ive always been someone more focused on how emotionally a musician sings than i am them hitting notes. i think anyone can learn to sing well with practice)

Eurydice: Josephine Baker (i just want to hear her sing "Flowers", im gonna be so real with you. i havent looked into her filmography much at all, but i know she was beloved as a stage-performer and ergo could act/dance and play coy and sarcastic, and i know i love her music. if anyone has a rec for her in a filmed role, especially a dramatic one, id love to see it)

Hermes: i have two picks. one, is Sammy Davis Junior (i just saw him in "Anna Lucasta" and i think hed be awesome. i plan to explore more of his filmography immediately, but that's currently the only role ive seen him in ans he has captivated me, id love to see him as a narrator. i feel like hed play Hermes as more of Orpheus' older cousin thats trying to be supportive as a result of having only seen him once and while he was pretty young, but i have faith an older Sammy Davis Jr would do a paternal vibe well) and my other top choice is Ella Fitzgerald (shed do so good, i love her voice so much. similar to Josephine Baker though, i havent really seen her act. again, feel free to give recommendations. but shed KILL Hermes' songs, i just know it. i can see her being one of those Hermes that calls Orpheus "baby" and really imply having adopted Orpheus. plus, while i know from "Anna Lucasta" that Eartha Kitt and Sammy Davis Junior would bounce amazingly off one another, id LOVE to see Eartha Kitt and Ella Fitzgerald interact so much, id love to see them be affectionate)

The Fates: my mind got fixated on seeing "Hollywood people famous for both their bredth of awesome work and also their tragic end while they were young" play the Fates?? like. Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, and Jimi Hendrix were the three that came to my mind, and now i cant get that trio out of my mind. however: in tandem with that one-track aspect of my mind, unable to grab onto a different possible trio, i am the most unsure about this pick though. i think my lack of confidence is because my mind wont let me consider other options, so im not weighing my options so much as i am just uncontrollably 👁👁 at my current choice. im sure there could be a better pick out there, but my brain is fixated for better or worse

and that is my pitch. i did see your pitch, and now i know some new actors to look up the filmographies of! so thank you for that. but i made up my list before i saw yours, and still wanted to share mine for fun even though i have a level of faith in you where im sure the actors youve listed (even the ones i dont know but do want to get see now) would be the best. i just wanted to expel my fancast out of my body anyway 💀

thanks for listening!!

I want to help with these actors you haven't seen as much of.

Josephine Baker in ZouZou:

Ella Fitzgerald in Ride 'Em Cowboy and St. Louis Blues:

Sammy Davis Jr.'s amazing performances in Robin and the 7 Hoods, Sweet Charity, and Tap (with bonus Arthur Duncan, Bunny Briggs, Jimmy Slyde, Steve Condos, Harold Nicholas, and Howard "Sandman" Sims):