Lesbian literature
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Lesbian literature includes works by lesbian authors, as well as lesbian-themed works by heterosexual authors. Even works by lesbian writers that do not deal with lesbian themes are still often considered lesbian literature. Works by heterosexual writers which treat lesbian themes only in passing, on the other hand, are not often regarded as lesbian literature.
Contemporary lesbian literature is centered around several small, exclusively lesbian presses, as well as online fandoms. Certain works have established historical or artistic importance. Works of lesbian literature are sometimes difficult to identify if they are not published by small lesbian presses due to a general lack of promotion of lesbian themes by mainstream publishers. An exhaustive list of works cannot be provided here, but key works in different genres are listed.
Contents
Lesbian Fiction
Classic Fiction and drama
- La garçonne (The Bachelor Girl) - Victor Margueritte - (1922)
- The Well of Loneliness - Radclyffe Hall - (1928) - its subject matter led to an obscenity trial which banished the book from Britain until the 1960s, though "there are no descriptions of sex in it, no rude words, and the lesbian lovers do not live happily ever after."1
- The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas - Gertrude Stein - one of Stein's more accessible works. Others, whose lesbian content may not be apparent to the uninformed reader, include [[As a Wife Has a Cow: A Love Story]], Lifting Belly, and Miss Furr and Miss Skeene.
- [[Orlando: A Biography]] - Virginia Woolf
- Nightwood - Djuna Barnes - (1936)
- Ladies' Almanack - Djuna Barnes
- The Children's Hour - Lillian Hellman - (1934)
- The Price of Salt - Patricia Highsmith - (1952) (The first with a "happy ending")
- Odd Girl Out, I Am A Woman, Women In the Shadows, Journey to a Woman, and Beebo Brinker - [Ann Bannon]
- The Killing of Sister George - Frank Marcus - (1963)
- Stone Butch Blues - Leslie Feinberg
Modern Fiction (post-
- Rubyfruit Jungle - Rita Mae Brown
- The Color Purple - Alice Walker
- Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit - Jeanette Winterson
- Tipping the Velvet - Sarah Waters
- Fingersmith - Sarah Waters
- Hood, Stirfry - Emma Donoghue
- Sita - Kate Millet
- Cat Rising - Cyn Chadwick
- Love's Masquerade - Radclyffe
- ''Of Drag Kings and the Wheel of Fate - [Susan "Smitty" Smith]
- Mousson de femmes (Monsoon of women) - Elula Perrin
Mystery novels
There are a great number of contemporary lesbian mysteries, a genre that is often more welcoming to sexual minorities.
- Alison Kaine, a lesbian Denver, Colorado police officer in mysteries by Kate Allen
- Allison O'Neill, a lesbian in mysteries by Lauren Wright Douglas
- Amanda Valentine, a lesbian detective inspector in Wellington, New Zealand by Rose Beecham
- Brenda Strange, a private investigator of the weird in Tampa, Florida by Patty Henderson
- Caitlin Reece, a lesbian in mysteries by Lauren Wright Douglas
- Carmen Ramirez, a 24-year-old Irish-Puerto Rican lesbian copy editor at her hometown newspaper in Frontier City, Oklahoma by Lisa Haddock
- Carol Ashton, a lesbian detective inspector in Sydney, Australia in mysteries by Claire McNab
- Cassandra Reilly, a widely travelled lesbian translator in mysteries by Barbara Wilson
- Cassidy James, a lesbian private investigator based in Portland, Oregon in mysteries by Kate Calloway
- Colleen Fitzgerald, a lesbian insurance investigator in mysteries by Barbara Johnson
- Desiree "Dez" Reilly, a lesbian policewoman in St. Paul, Minnesota in mysteries by [Lori L. Lake]
- Gianna Maglione, lesbian police lieutenant in Washington, D.C. in mysteries by Penny Mickelbury
- Hilary Tamar, an androgynous lawyer in mysteries by Sarah Caudwell
- Inspector Sarah Nelson in mysteries by Susan Wolfe
- Jane Lawless, a lesbian restaurant owner and private investigator in Minneapolis in mysteries by Ellen Hart
- Jet Butler, a lesbian college professor in mysteries by B. Reese Johnson
- Jo Jacuzzo, a charismatic lesbian in Buffalo, New York in mysteries by Anne Seale
- Kate Delafield, a lesbian LAPD homicide detective and former Marine in mysteries by Katherine V.Forrest
- Kate Martinelli, a lesbian San Francisco homicide detective in mysteries by Laurie R. King
- Kellen Stewart, a therapist and a lesbian in Great Britain by Manda Scott
- Kylie Kendall, the lesbian manager of a pub in tiny Wollegudgerie, Australia who inherits 51% of her father's private detective agency in Los Angeles, California in mysteries by Claire McNab
- Lauren Laurano, a lesbian private investigator in Manhattan, in mysteries by Sandra Scoppettone
- Lexy Hyatt, a lesbian crime reporter in Florida in mysteries by Carlene Miller
- Linday Gordon, a lesbian journalist & socialist in Glasgow, Scotland in mysteries by Val McDermid
- Maggie Garrett, a young, lesbian private investigator in San Francisco, California in mysteries by Jean Taylor
- Maris Middleton, a lesbian chemist with a specialization in forensics in mysteries by Kaye Davis
- Meg Lacey, a lesbian private investigator based in Canada in mysteries by Elizabeth Bowers
- Micky Knight, a lesbian New Orleans private investigator in mysteries by J.M. Redmann
- Monette O'Reilley, towering lesbian and star player of the Leaping Lesbians of Park Slope soccer team and graphic artist in New York in mysteries by David Stukas
- Nickel (Nicole) Smith, a lesbian small-town newspaper editor in Runnymeade by Rita Mae Brown
- Pam Nilsen, lesbian printing company owner in Seattle, Washington by Barbara Wilson
- Saz Martin, a lesbian private investigator in London by Stella Duffy
- Stoner McTavish, a lesbian travel agent in Boston, Massachusetts by Sarah Dreher
- Sydney Sloan, a lesbian private investigator in New York, New York, in the Stonewall Inn mysteries by Randye Lordon
- Tru North, a lesbian police detective in Kansas City, Missouri in mysteries by Janet McClellan
- Virginia Kelly, a lesbian investment advisor in mysteries by Nikki Baker
- the Unexpected series by Gina Dartt
Romance novels
Contemporary Lesbian Romances are typified by the novels from [Karin Kallmaker] and Radclyffe
- All True Lovers, by Sarah Aldridge is a romance novel about two women who fall in love during the Great Depression
- Course of Action -- [Gun Brooke]
- Define Destiny -- [JM Dragon]
- Passion Bay, Saving Grace, The Sacred Shore, A Guarded Heart -- Jennifer Fulton
- I Found My Heart In San Francisco Series, Arbor Vitae -- [SX Meagher]
- Embrace in Motion, Car Pool, In Every Port, Maybe Next Time, One Degree of Separation, Sugar, Unforgettable, All the Wrong Places, Making Up For Lost Time, Paperback Romance, Painted Moon, Substitute for Love, Touchwood, Wild Things, Watermark (sequel to Touchwood) -- [Karin Kallmaker]
- The Light Fantastic -- L A Tucker
- None So Blind -- LJ Maas
- Galveston 1900 -- Linda Crist
- The Price OF Fame, The Cost Of Commitment, The Value of Valor -- [Lynn Ames]
- Infinite Loop -- [Meghan O'Brien]
- Innocent Hearts, Love's Melody Lost, Love's Tender Warriors, Tomorrow's Promise, Passion's Bright Fury, Love's Masquerade -- Radclyffe
- Gloria's Inn -- [Robin Alexander]
- Private Dancer -- [TJ Vertigo]
Lesbian Science Fiction/Fantasy
Lesbian science fiction works frequently address the issue of feminist/lesbian separatist communities.
- Joanna Russ The Female Man
- Marion Zimmer Bradley's Renunciate series
- Jane Fletcher's Celano series
- Nicola Griffith's Ammonite, Slow River
- Katherine V. Forrest's Daughters of A Coral Dawn
- Diana River's Hadra Series
- Laurie J. Marks' Fire Logic
- Meghan O'Brien's The Three
- External Links
- *[Golden Crown Literary Society] An organization of publishers, distributors, authors, and readers of lesbian fiction.
- *[Star Crossed Production] Your One-Stop Shopping Place for Quality Lesbian Fiction
- *[Feminist SFF & Utopia: Dyke Protagonists]
- *[Science Fiction for Lesbians]
- *[GLBT Fantasy Reviews]
- *[Gaylactic Spectrum Awards]
- *[Books To Watch Out For] publishes monthly e-letters celebrating books on various topics. Each issue includes new book announcements, brief reviews, commentary, news and, yes, good book gossip. The Lesbian Edition, covers both lesbian books and the whole range of books lesbians like to read. Subscription required.
Lesbian Fan Fiction
- Star Trek Voyager Fandom
- Xena Warrior Princess Fandom
- Buffy The Vampire Slayer Fandom
History
- Lesbianism in Germany: 1890's to 1920's. Lillian Faderman and Brigitte Eriksson.
- Passions Between Women: British Lesbian Culture 1668-1801. Emma Donoghue
- Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth-Century America. Lillian Faderman
Poetry
- Sappho
- H.D.
- Natalie Clifford Barney
- Renée Vivien
- Comtess Anna de Noailles
- Amy Lowell
- Elizabeth Bishop
- Mary Dorcey
- Carol Ann Duffy
- Michael Fields
- Audre Lorde
- Edna St Vincent Millay
- Eileen Myles
- Sophia Parnok
- Michelle Tea
- Adrienne Rich
- Marilyn Hacker
- External Link
- *[Isle of Lesbos Poetry]
Theory and criticism
- Lesbian Texts and Contexts:: Radical Revisions, ed. by Karla Jay and Joanne Glasgow, New York University Press 1990
- Chloe plus Olivia - An Anthology of Lesbian Literature from the Seventeenth Century to the Present, ed. by Lillian Faderman, Penguin Books 1995
- The Literature of Lesbianism, ed. by Terry Castle, 1110 p. - Columbia University Press 2003
Lesbian Presses
- [Bold Strokes Books]
- [Bella Books]
- [Onlywomen Press]
- [Alyson Books]
- [Intaglio Publications]
- [Regal Crest Enterprises, LLC]
- [P.D. Publishing, Inc.]
References
- 1Jeanette Winterson, The Times, 1997.
- [Gay detectives listed by Stop, You're Killing Me!, a resource for mysteries]
- [Gay & Lesbian detectives listed by Martin Kich]
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