| American expatriate Sylvia Beach (1887-1962) is mostly recognized for her contribution to Modernist literature by publishing James Joyce's Ulysses and avant-garde magazines. However, the objective of this study is to resurrect Beach's legacy as a leader by discovering how Beach, through opening Shakespeare and Company, an English-language bookshop in Paris, led the literary community who expatriated to Paris in the early twentieth century. Beach's journey into leadership began when she bravely opened her bookshop in a foreign country in 1919, at the closing of World War I, during a time when few women owned their own businesses. By creating a place, a home away from home, for the disillusioned and disenfranchised expatriates writers, Beach created a safe environment for the expatriates---a place to find their identity. By befriending them, earning their trust, and gaining their help in the Ulysses publishing venture, Beach created an environment of collaboration among the writers, many of whom remained lifelong friends. Beach's business model was unprecedented, and with vision and boldness, at Shakespeare and Company, Beach exemplified leadership by continually helping others, and thus transformed Shakespeare and Company into one of the most recognized bookstores of the time. |
