[1][2][3] Her parents, Benjamin "Benish" and Henriette "Yetta" Levy, raised her, along with her sisters Addie and Polly, in the city at 920 O'Farrell Street which would become the topic of her memoir.

[6] In 1906, Harriet was across the San Francisco Bay when a large earthquake struck the city, and when she returned she found the house at 920 O'Farrell street completely destroyed.

[5][6] In 1908, in Paris, Levy was invited to Pablo Picasso's party in the Montmartre in and Montparnasse quarters, to honor the painter Henri Rousseau.

Levy wrote a description of the famed Rousseau Banquet, which was published in a limited edition of 30 copies in 1985 as part of a UC Berkeley seminar.

[8][9] Levy moved to Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, in 1943 during World War II and resided at the La Playa Hotel with her companion Mary Godde.