Elizabeth Gilbert's novel City of Girls is about a 19-year-old young woman named Vivian Morris who, after failing out of college at Vassar, is sent to live with her Aunt Peg in New York City. While there, Vivian works for her aunt's independent theater called The Lily and befriends the other young people who are part of the theater's daily productions. Over time, Vivian comes to experience New York City through the perspective of a 1940's showgirl, and in the process learns lessons about herself, her friends, her family, and the state of the world during World War II. City of Girls explores themes of youthful transgressions, feminism, history, and challenging the status quo.
When Elizabeth Gilbert's first story, "Pilgrims," was published in 1993, the editors at Esquire subtitled it "The Debut of an American Writer." A decade into her professional writing career, her diver...
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Elizabeth Gilbert