Early 20th-century queer novels by women writers are the forerunners of today’s LGBTQ books, many of which are being targeted by attempted bans and challenges. As a straight person with a lot of LGBTQ people in my life, I’d like to honor both the progress and continuing struggle as Pride Month (in the US) draws to a close.
In this brief glimpse of the early-to mid-century lesbian canon, it’s fascinating to see the echoes of contemporary queer lit.
Though the classic lesbian and queer novels presented here were considered groundbreaking in their time, they were by no means the first of this genre of literature. From the poetry of Sappho to the secret diaries of Anne Lister (“Gentleman Jack”) to queer re-evaluations of many classic women authors, the books you’ll find here had plenty of forerunners.
Some were more forthright than others, and over time, thinly veiled allusions gave way to more overt same-sex love and romance. Though not the only examples of the fledgling genre, the six novels presented here were hugely impactful. The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall (1928) especially, inspired generations of LGBTQ writers.
Thanks to regular Literary Ladies Guide contributor Frances Booth for several of these entries.
Regiment of Women by Clemence Dane (1917)
Regiment of Women was the debut novel of Clemence Dane (pseudonym of Winifred Ashton, 1888-1965), a London-born novelist, playwright, and early feminist.
The word ‘Regiment’ in the title Regiment of Women means ‘rule by,’ and is a reference to John Knox’s pamphlet The First Blast of the Trumpet against the Monstrous Regiment of Women, 1558, published at the time of Queen Elizabeth I; Knox argued that rule by women was against the teachings of the Bible.
Dane’s title is obviously ironic but at least two of the book cover designers completely misunderstood the title, or more likely had not read the book: one has a picture of a woman in uniform, depicting a female member of a military regiment, and the other has a picture of a boys’ school.
Read more about Regiment of Women.
The Well of Loneliness by Radclyff Hall (1928)
Since its first appearance in 1928, The Well of Loneliness by British author Radclyffe Hall (1880 – 1943) has spurred much discussion and controversy. The semi-autobiographical novel concerns a young woman’s coming to terms with not only her lesbian identity but her gender identity.
The book caused an absolute furor when first published in England. Same-sex love between women was a topic rarely written about outside of scientific textbooks. Famously, the editor of London’s Sunday Express wrote in his editorial screed, “I would rather give a healthy boy or a healthy girl a phial of prussic acid than this novel.”
The Well of Loneliness went to trial for obscenity (though it’s nothing of the kind) and was completely banned in England until years after the author’s death. Now considered a classic of gay literature, it has been a huge influence on LGBTQ literature that came after.
The novel's main character, born female but given the name Stephen, struggles with her self-perceived maleness. The struggle to understand her gender identity at a time when there was scant understanding or language for such a concept makes this novel revolutionary.
Read more about The Well of Loneliness.
Diana, a Strange Autobiography by Diana Fredericks (1939)
Frances V. Rummell, an American writer and educator, published Diana: A Strange Autobiography (1939) under the pseudonym Diana Fredericks. More of an autobiographical novel than an actual memoir, it nonetheless draws upon the author’s life. The story details the title heroine’s discovery of her lesbian sexuality.
Positive portrayal of lesbians was considered shocking when the book was published. It’s now considered groundbreaking as one of the first works of gay fiction to have a happy outcome.
Published squarely between 1928’s The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall and the lesbian pulp novels that emerged in the early 1950s, Diana is a worthy, yet often overlooked addition to the genre. More about Diana: A Strange Autobiography.
The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith (1952)
When The Price of Salt was published in 1952, it was a rarity in lesbian literature. Lesbian pulp novels were quite a thing, but in order to pass censors, one of the two protagonists had to either come to a bad end, go crazy, or realize that she was straight, after all. The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith (published under the pseudonym Claire Morgan) did none of those things.
Highsmith was at the start of a career writing thrillers about sociopaths (such as the one in her first book, Strangers on a Train, the basis for the 1951 Hitchcock film).
The Price of Salt was a departure from what was to become Highsmith’s preferred genre of psychological thrillers and would remain an outlier among her works. The novel was adapted decades later as the 2015 film, retitled Carol. The story of two women falling in love starred Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara.
Even revisiting this mid-century love story in 2015 wasn’t easy. “The challenge with Carol is that we’re viewing this same-sex relationship through the prism of a 2015 film,” Blanchett said in this Hollywood Reporter feature.
Read more about The Price of Salt.
Spring Fire by Vin Packer (1952)
1952 was something of an annus mirabilis for the lesbian coming of age novel, seeing the paperback republication of the aforementioned Diana, and the original publication of The Price of Salt and Spring Fire by Vin Packer, the pen name of Marijane Meaker.
Spring Fire has the distinction of being the first lesbian paperback-original novel (The Price of Salt was issued as a Bantam paperback in 1953, but this was after the release of the hardback).
The central character of Spring Fire, Susan (Mitch) Mitchell is rich. “She was not lovely and dainty and pretty, but there was a comeliness about her that suggested some inbred strength and grace.”
She has been to several different boarding schools over a period of six years with no apparent romantic or any other kind of interest in or from other girls. This changes, of course, as the novel progresses. Read more about Spring Fire.
Odd Girl Out by Ann Bannon (1957)
Odd Girl Out by Ann Bannon (the pseudonym of Ann Weldy), came a bit later in the group of the influential and enduring lesbian pulp novels of the 1950s.
Odd Girl Out was the first of what became The Beebo Brinker Chronicles: five linked novels from 1957 to 1962, following the same character, Laura, into maturity. Weldy was a very unlikely pioneer of lesbian fiction. She recalled:
“I must have been the most naïve kid who ever sat down at the age of 22 to write a novel. I was a young housewife living in the suburbs of Philadelphia, college graduation just behind me, and utterly unschooled in the ways of the world … To my continuing astonishment, the books have developed a life of their own. They were born in the hostile era of McCarthyism and rigid male/female sex roles, yet still speak to readers in the twenty-first century.”
Read more about Odd Girl Out.
More notable titles in 20th-century queer lit by women
Dusty Answer by Rosamond Lehmann (1927)
Nightwood by Djuna Barnes (1937)
Olivia by Dorothy Strachey Bussy (1949)
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