Three Lives and Tender Buttons

"Three Lives" is a series of novellas, three independent stories set in the fictional town of Bridgepoint. The first story is that of «The Good Anna», about Anna Federner, a servant of «solid lower middle-class south german stock.» The second story is that of «Melanctha», who is the daughter of a black father and mixed-race mother. The third story is that of «The Gentle Lena», which follows the life and death of the titular Lena, a German girl brought to Bridgepoint by an aunt. To this is added «Tender Buttons», which is Stein's most famous work of hermetic poetry.