Fearless and Free

A Memoir

De: Josephine Baker, Ijeoma Oluo - foreword, Sophie Lewis

Narrado por: Anam Zafar, Sophie R. Lewis, Ijeoma Oluo, Jade Wheeler, Quentin Bruno

A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF THE YEAR: The TODAY Show, Vanity Fair, Financial Times, W Magazine, Oprah Daily, LibraryReads

Praised as “funny and witty” by Kwame Alexander on the TODAY show, now published in the US for the first time, Fearless and Free is the memoir of the “trailblazing” (People), rule-breaking, one-of-a-kind Josephine Baker, the iconic dancer, singer, spy, and Civil Rights activist.

“A gorgeous, captivating gem of a memoir… Josephine Baker’s as enthralling on the page as she was on the stage.”—Abbott Kahler, New York Times bestselling author of Eden Undone and Sin in the Second City

After stealing the spotlight as a teenaged Broadway performer during the height of the Harlem Renaissance, Josephine then took Paris by storm, dazzling audiences across the Roaring Twenties. In her famous banana skirt, she enraptured royalty and countless fans—Ernest Hemingway and Pablo Picasso among them. She strolled the streets of Paris with her pet cheetah wearing a diamond collar. With her signature flapper bob and enthralling dance moves, she was one of the most recognizable women in the world.

When World War II broke out, Josephine became a decorated spy for the French Résistance. Her celebrity worked as her cover, as she hid spies in her entourage and secret messages in her costumes as she traveled. She later joined the Civil Rights movement in the US, boycotting segregated concert venues, and speaking at the March on Washington alongside Martin Luther King Jr.

First published in France in 1949, her memoir will now finally be published in English. At last we can hear Josephine in her own voice: charming, passionate, and brave. Her words are thrilling and intimate, like she’s talking with her friends over after-show drinks in her dressing room. Through her own telling, we come to know a woman who danced to the top of the world and left her unforgettable mark on it.

©2025 Originally published in French by Éditions Corrêa in France as Les Mémoires De Joséphine Baker by Marcel Sauvage, in 1949. Reissued in French by Éditions Phébus, in 2022. First English language edition simultaneously published with Vintage UK, a division of Penguin Random House Group, in 2025 Copyright © 2022 by Éditions Phébus / Libella, Paris. Translation copyright © 2025 by Anam Zafar and Sophie Lewis. Foreword copyright © 2025 by Ijeoma Oluo (P)2025 Penguin Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Josephine Baker certainly shook things up. This memoir demonstrates—vividly—the pleasure she took in doing it.”—The Washington Post

“[A] trailblazing performer and activist’s book… Much of her work still resonates today.”—People

“This is Josephine Baker's story in her own words… Her voice is very strong in this story, and she is the best kind of person to read about. She is very funny and witty, humble and kind, and extremely eccentric.”—Kwame Alexander, TODAY

Extraordinary lady

Loved the story. Excellent narration. Wished it went on to tell us about her later life.

A much appreciated peek into the mind of Josephine Baker

This is a travelogue, with a portion of cookbook, and a loose collection of anecdotes and reflections on life by the brilliant performer. It is not fleshed out as some memoirs are but I thoroughly enjoyed it nevertheless and the narrator did an excellent job!

Oh la la!

It’s her story, told in her way with I guess her or co-authors liberty of inclusion and exclusion. Eh, I love her so even with some of her unsavory moments. She’s complex. I’ve learned multiple versions of her life, so the wholes are filled in for me. This book is fragmented but it gives an insight into her.

Revealed another side

The book reveals another side of her I was not aware of. I didn’t know how much she struggled or sick she was.

Not a biography

This book was more like a Travel adventure. This was not a book about her life as much it was about her character on the dance floor. You got a glimpse, but I ended up reading a short biography about her, so I knew she was so I would not recommend this book.

A incongruous mess

Ibe been looking forward to getting to know Josephine Baker, but the story presented here is so fragmented I could not finish.