Elisabeth Wilson tells stories of the artists, intellectuals, radicals, and hangers-on who populated the salons, bars, and cafés of Paris, London, Berlin, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco since the early nineteenth century. The book is a quest for the many shifting notions of bohemianism that give rise to debate about the role of art and artists. She explores the role of sex and erotic love, the role of women in Bohemia, the bohemian search for eccentricity and excess, and the politics of many bohemians. Many examples are given, amongst others: Djuna Barnes, Suzanne Valadon, Josephine Baker, Nancy Cunard, Andy Warhol, Juliette Greco, Allen Ginsberg, and Marianne Faithfull. Examples of politics: lesbianism, feminism, mysticism, and marxism