Lesbian Pulp Fiction: The Sexually Intrepid World of Lesbian Paperback Novels 1950-1965, selected and introduced by Katherine V. Forrest. Cleis Press, 440 pages, $18.95.
For those who lived it and are nostalgic, for those seeking alternate sources of pre-Stonewall lesbian history, or for those just looking for a little titillating trash, this collection demands attention. In Lesbian Pulp Fiction, editor Katherine V. Forrest culls selections from 19 popular authors of paperback originals published in the 1950s and early 1960s. Each selection is preceded by a photo of the original paperback art and quotes the cover blurbs. By limiting her choices to books in the timeframe, not previously published in hardcover, Forrest has bypassed some of the best lesbian fiction that circulated in paperback reprints during that period. Don't expect to find such classics as The Price of Salt by Claire Morgan, We Too Are Drifting by Gayle Wilhelm or The Middle Mist by Mary Renault. The limitations also preclude inclusion of either that tired old chestnut from 1928, The Well of Loneliness by Radclyff Hall, or the groundbreaking Patience and Sarah by Isabel Miller ( 1969 ) , though each went through dozens of printings in paperback over successive decades.
Forrest is uniquely situated to choose the excerpts from the diverse novels that made up 'the golden age of lesbian pulps.' She stumbled on her first Ann Bannon in the late 1950s, and published her own, bestselling, steamy lesbian romance, Curious Wine, in 1983. For a decade she served as editor of Naiad Press and is an award-winning author, reviewer and anthologist. She is perhaps best known as a mystery writer, with her police procedurals, featuring LAPD Homicide sleuth Kate Delafield ( the first lesbian detective to have her own series ) .
In her introduction to Lesbian Pulp Fiction, Forrest gives a publishing history of the genre, reveals who wrote under what pseudonym, and touches on the political significance, and nascent community, fostered by the books of that era. While one might argue for inclusion of other writers, one can't fault her selections. She even runs an excerpt from a male author as an example of the dozens who wrote 'lesbian' novels under female names.
The discrepancies and omissions, like those in Forrest's coverage of Tereska Torres' novel Women's Barracks ( 1950 ) are minor. The book, based on the wartime diary of a woman soldier in the Free French army, was a paperback original the U.S., but had been previously published in France. She notes that 'the three women on the cover became the template for lesbian pulp fiction.'
Actually, there are four women on the cover of Women's Barracks but, only three on the cover of The Girls in 3-B by Valerie Taylor ( which she also excerpts ) . The majority of cover art in the lesbian pulp genre displayed two very femme females in provocative positions. Forrest notes that Women's Barracks became 'a publishing sensation' in its day and correctly attributes its tremendous sales to 'igniting the unprecedented boom in lesbian-themed publishing.' What she neglects to tell us is the reason for the colossal sales: the failed attempt of the House of Representatives Select Committee on Pornography to censor the book. In the wake of massive publicity, sales skyrocketed, as they had three decades earlier for The Well of Loneliness when it was banned in England.
My only gripe is with the 'lurid' cover illustration. While in keeping with the spirit of the 1950s pulps, the prominent pencil-point nipples in the scanty lingerie may drive a current generation of youngsters to do what we did back then, clothe our trash in a plain paper cover.
It should be noted that the publisher, Cleis Press, has issued reprints ( with new introductions by the authors ) , of Vin Packer's Spring Fire, and five Ann Bannon novels. The Feminist Press re-issued Valerie Taylor's Girls in 3-B in its Femme Fatale series a few years ago with a stunning introduction. Books by Bannon and Taylor had been reprinted ( without editorial comment ) by Naiad Press' Volute Series in the 1980s. All three of these authors are represented in Forrest's collection by two selections each.
Copyright 2005 by Marie J. Kuda. e-mail: kudoschgo@aol.com .
