The Penguin Book of Lesbian Short Stories
by Margaret Reynolds (Editor)
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Description
"And more than that - sometimes women love women. Like Queen Victoria, the world has preferred to believe that sex between women is impossible, resulting in a long silence between the writings of Sappho and the flowering of talent produced by feminism and the sexual revolution. Lesbian writing has come a long way since Virginia Woolf's famous essay of 1928. Since then women have challenged traditional forms of expression and subject matter in an extraordinarily rich and varied discourse to show more give voice to the lesbian imagination." "In this wide-ranging anthology, Margaret Reynolds has brought together the work of thirty-two women from Britain, continental Europe, and the Americas - including three specially commissioned pieces - that covers nearly a century of lesbian writing, from Sarah Orne Jewett (1897) to Jeanette Winterson (1993). The collection ranges from Frances Gapper's pastiche of a Romantic melodrama, through the wry humor of Merril Mushroom's description of butch and femme courting rituals, to the wit of Alison Bechdel's cartoon strip. The anxiety of unresolved desire is present in many stories - Radclyffe Hall's Miss Ogilvy is unable truly to find herself in this world, Djuna and Lillian hold back from each other in Anais Nin's "Cities of the Interior," and the energy and commitment that should go into a loving relationship are stifled by convention in Jane Rule's story of passion outside marriage. But here are brave spirits, too - Renee Vivien's Sarolta and her Prince(ss) live forever in a vision of ideal tenderness, Colette's heroines preserve the sanctity of their little white bed, and Jewelle Gomez's bulldagger society survives far from the haunts of men. There are coming-out stories, stories about cross-dressing, vampire tales, science fiction, parody, and romance. Each story is quite different from the others, yet each acknowledges a particular facet of lesbian history and makes it real."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved show lessTags
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Member Reviews
In this anthology, Margaret Reynolds brings together the work of 32 women from Britain, Europe and the Americas, including three specially commissioned pieces, covering nearly a century of lesbian writing, from Sarah Orne Jewett (1897) to Jeanette Winterson (1993).
A mixed bag - my reading progress was all stop-and-start.
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Author Information
Margaret Reynolds is a writer, academic, critic, and broadcaster. She lives in Gloucestershire and is a Senior Research Fellow at Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London, and was formerly a Visiting Fellow at Clare Hall, Cambridge
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Penguin Book of Lesbian Short Stories
Classifications
- Genres
- LGBTQ+, Fiction and Literature
- DDC/MDS
- 820.8 — Literature & rhetoric English & Old English literatures English and Old English (Anglo-Saxon) literatures Collections of literary texts in more than one form
- LCC
- PN6120.92 .W65 .P46 — Language and Literature Literature (General) Literature (General) Collections of general literature Fiction
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 326
- Popularity
- 97,472
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.14)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 5
