Biographical Note
Janet Flanner was born March 13, 1892 in Indianapolis, Indiana. She attended the University of Chicago from 1912-1913. In 1917, she was hired as drama editor for the Indianapolis Star. In 1918, she married William Lane Rehm and moved to New York. The marriage would end in divorce in 1926. Flanner was decorated by the French Legion of Honor for discovering looted French art in Germany in 1947. She received an honorary D.Litt. from Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts in 1958.
Solita Solano, christened Sarah Wilkinson, was born in 1888 in Troy, New York. She attended Emma Willard School in Troy and later Sacred Heart Convent. In 1904, she eloped with Oliver Filley whose career as an engineer took them to live in China, Japan, and the Philippines. In 1908, Solano moved to New York City and later to Boston where she worked for the Boston Journal. From 1914-1917, she worked for the Boston Traveler as a drama editor. By 1918, her marriage had been annulled and she moved back to New York City to join the New York Tribune newspaper.
Flanner and Solano met in New York City. In 1921, they traveled to Europe together when Solano was given some overseas assignments with the National Geographic magazine. They settled in Paris together in 1922 among the American expatriates on the Left Bank. In 1925, Flanner established a long-term professional assignment with the New Yorker magazine as a foreign correspondent. Flanner became one of the most influential American writers on the Left Bank. Using her pseudonym 'Genêt', she wrote a 'Letter from Paris' for 50 years, as a biweekly publication in the New Yorker. Flanner wrote about Paris life for Americans, chronicling events and people. From 1926-1975, Flanner published a number of books and articles. For 2 years, 1944-1946, Flanner did broadcast journalism in Paris for a weekly radio show called "Listen: The Women." Solano wrote several books, including novels and poems, between the years 1924-1934. Solano was the key editor of all Flanner's professional writings throughout their lives. Solano was also the keeper of the scrapbook volumes and photographs, which she and Flanner jointly donated to the Library of Congress. Solano and Flanner both remained active writing up until their deaths in 1975 and 1978, respectively.
For more extensive biographies see the Manuscript Division's finding aid for the Janet Flanner and Solita Solano papers, 1870-1976.