Sherwood Anderson visited Paris twice during his life; once in 1921 and once in 1926-1927. Each trip lasted only a few months and, of the two, the first was by far the more important. Indeed, the second trip--which began in late December 1926 and ended in early March 1927--was more of a nightmare than a pleasure excursion. Writing to literary critic Paul Rosenfeld in January 1927, Anderson complained of his own ill health, ill-temperedness in other Americans, and a general lack of creative vitality in his work. The only thing that somewhat redeemed his second Paris visit was the opportunity to see a few old friends, the foremost of whom was Gertrude Stein. Other than that it was a trip best forgotten.

The situation was quite different--personally and professionally--in 1921 when Anderson and his wife Tennessee visited Paris in the company of Paul Rosenfeld, who paid for the trip. If he was...