Gertrude Stein was born in 1874 and died in 1946. An American writer who spent most of her life in France, she was a catalyst in the development of modern literature and art. Stein was the author of more than 25 books of experimental writing, many of which were self-published. Tender Buttons was her second published work, and set the foundation for not only her own oeuvre, but for generations of writers to come. She never visited Canada.