

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! From the # 1 New York Times bestselling author of Eat Pray Love and The Signature of All Things, a delicious novel of glamour, sex, and adventure, about a young woman discovering that you don't have to be a good girl to be a good person. "A spellbinding novel about love, freedom, and finding your own happiness." - PopSugar "Intimate and richly sensual, razzle-dazzle with a hint of danger." -USA Today "Pairs well with a cocktail...or two." -TheSkimm "Life is both fleeting and dangerous, and there is no point in denying yourself pleasure, or being anything other than what you are." Beloved author Elizabeth Gilbert returns to fiction with a unique love story set in the New York City theater world during the 1940s. Told from the perspective of an older woman as she looks back on her youth with both pleasure and regret (but mostly pleasure), City of Girls explores themes of female sexuality and promiscuity, as well as the idiosyncrasies of true love. In 1940, nineteen-year-old Vivian Morris has just been kicked out of Vassar College, owing to her lackluster freshman-year performance. Her affluent parents send her to Manhattan to live with her Aunt Peg, who owns a flamboyant, crumbling midtown theater called the Lily Playhouse. There Vivian is introduced to an entire cosmos of unconventional and charismatic characters, from the fun-chasing showgirls to a sexy male actor, a grand-dame actress, a lady-killer writer, and no-nonsense stage manager. But when Vivian makes a personal mistake that results in professional scandal, it turns her new world upside down in ways that it will take her years to fully understand. Ultimately, though, it leads her to a new understanding of the kind of life she craves - and the kind of freedom it takes to pursue it. It will also lead to the love of her life, a love that stands out from all the rest. Now eighty-nine years old and telling her story at last, Vivian recalls how the events of those years altered the course of her life - and the gusto and autonomy with which she approached it. "At some point in a woman's life, she just gets tired of being ashamed all the time," she muses. "After that, she is free to become whoever she truly is." Written with a powerful wisdom about human desire and connection, City of Girls is a love story like no other.
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! From the # 1 New York Times bestselling author of Eat Pray Love and The Signature of All Things, a delicious novel of glamour, sex, and adventure, about a young woman discovering that you don't have to be a good girl to be a good person. "A spellbinding novel about love, freedom, and finding your own happiness." - PopSugar "Intimate and richly sensual, razzle-dazzle with a hint of danger." -USA Today "Pairs well with a cocktail...or two." -TheSkimm "Life is both fleeting and dangerous, and there is no point in denying yourself pleasure, or being anything other than what you are." Beloved author Elizabeth Gilbert returns to fiction with a unique love story set in the New York City theater world during the 1940s. Told from the perspective of an older woman as she looks back on her youth with both pleasure and regret (but mostly pleasure), City of Girls explores themes of female sexuality and promiscuity, as well as the idiosyncrasies of true love. In 1940, nineteen-year-old Vivian Morris has just been kicked out of Vassar College, owing to her lackluster freshman-year performance. Her affluent parents send her to Manhattan to live with her Aunt Peg, who owns a flamboyant, crumbling midtown theater called the Lily Playhouse. There Vivian is introduced to an entire cosmos of unconventional and charismatic characters, from the fun-chasing showgirls to a sexy male actor, a grand-dame actress, a lady-killer writer, and no-nonsense stage manager. But when Vivian makes a personal mistake that results in professional scandal, it turns her new world upside down in ways that it will take her years to fully understand. Ultimately, though, it leads her to a new understanding of the kind of life she craves - and the kind of freedom it takes to pursue it. It will also lead to the love of her life, a love that stands out from all the rest. Now eighty-nine years old and telling her story at last, Vivian recalls how the events of those years altered the course of her life - and the gusto and autonomy with which she approached it. "At some point in a woman's life, she just gets tired of being ashamed all the time," she muses. "After that, she is free to become whoever she truly is." Written with a powerful wisdom about human desire and connection, City of Girls is a love story like no other.
Add to your library to track progress and write reviews
Add to your library to track progress and write reviews
Find City of Girls Elizabeth Gilbert in PDF, EPUB, ebook, audiobook, print, or library editions.
Find City of Girls Elizabeth Gilbert in PDF, EPUB, ebook, audiobook, print, or library editions.
3 books in catalog
Spanning acclaimed memoirs, immersive historical fiction, and award-winning journalism, narrative non-fiction and storytelling have long anchored a wide-ranging literary catalog. Elizabeth Gilbert gained widespread prominence with her blockbuster memoir Eat Pray Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia, which spent 57 weeks in the top spot on the New York Times paperback bestseller list, shipped over 6 million copies in the United States, sold more than 12 million copies worldwide, and inspired a Columbia Pictures feature film.
Born in Waterbury, Connecticut, on July 18, 1969, Gilbert grew up on a small family Christmas tree farm. She attended New York University, where she studied political science by day and drafted short stories by night. After completing her degree, she traveled broadly and worked as a journalist, covering politics and music for publications including Spin and GQ. She began her published book career with the short story collection Pilgrims, which was named a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award, followed by her debut novel Stern Men, which was designated a New York Times Notable Book.
In 2002, Gilbert published The Last American Man, a biography of naturalist Eustace Conway that became a finalist for both the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. After the dissolution of her first marriage, her travels across Italy, India, and Indonesia yielded her iconic 2006 memoir. In addition to her non-fiction memoirs Committed and Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, Gilbert has published acclaimed novels including City of Girls and The Signature of All Things, which is available in Spanish as La firma de todas las cosas.
Gilbert's work across both fiction and non-fiction is distinguished by candid self-reflection, detailed research, and character-driven narrative pacing. In her personal memoirs, she explores themes of spiritual growth, emotional resilience, love, loss, and creative fulfillment with conversational intimacy. In her historical fiction, she focuses on independent female protagonists navigating societal expectations, artistic passions, and intellect across vibrant historical backdrops.
3 books in catalog
Spanning acclaimed memoirs, immersive historical fiction, and award-winning journalism, narrative non-fiction and storytelling have long anchored a wide-ranging literary catalog. Elizabeth Gilbert gained widespread prominence with her blockbuster memoir Eat Pray Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia, which spent 57 weeks in the top spot on the New York Times paperback bestseller list, shipped over 6 million copies in the United States, sold more than 12 million copies worldwide, and inspired a Columbia Pictures feature film.
Born in Waterbury, Connecticut, on July 18, 1969, Gilbert grew up on a small family Christmas tree farm. She attended New York University, where she studied political science by day and drafted short stories by night. After completing her degree, she traveled broadly and worked as a journalist, covering politics and music for publications including Spin and GQ. She began her published book career with the short story collection Pilgrims, which was named a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award, followed by her debut novel Stern Men, which was designated a New York Times Notable Book.
In 2002, Gilbert published The Last American Man, a biography of naturalist Eustace Conway that became a finalist for both the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. After the dissolution of her first marriage, her travels across Italy, India, and Indonesia yielded her iconic 2006 memoir. In addition to her non-fiction memoirs Committed and Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, Gilbert has published acclaimed novels including City of Girls and The Signature of All Things, which is available in Spanish as La firma de todas las cosas.
Gilbert's work across both fiction and non-fiction is distinguished by candid self-reflection, detailed research, and character-driven narrative pacing. In her personal memoirs, she explores themes of spiritual growth, emotional resilience, love, loss, and creative fulfillment with conversational intimacy. In her historical fiction, she focuses on independent female protagonists navigating societal expectations, artistic passions, and intellect across vibrant historical backdrops.