Lesbian fiction

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Lesbian fiction is a subgenre of fiction that involves primary one or more primary female homosexual character(s) and lesbian themes. Novels that fall into this category may be of any genres, such as, but not limited to, historical fiction, science fiction, fantasy, horror, and romance.

[edit] History

Lesbian-themed fiction has existed throughout history. When Radclyffe Hall wrote The Well of Loneliness in 1928, a British court found the book obscene because it defended "unnatural practices between women".^[1] In the United States the book survived legal challenges in New York and the Customs Court.

Lesbian fiction saw a huge explosion in interest with the advent of the dime-store or pulp fiction novel. Lesbian pulp fiction became its own category of fiction, although a singificant number of authors of lesbian pulp novels were men either using a male name or a female pen name. The feminist movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s saw a more accepted entry of lesbian-themed literature.

Nancy Garden's Annie on My Mind was one of the early young adult novels featuring love between two girls, but new books about lesbian and bisexual teenagers have since been published, including the aboves books by Sara Ryan, Julie Anne Peters, and Judy Maclean.

[edit] Young adult

Main article: Lesbian teen fiction

Publication of lesbian fiction for teenagers and young adults has increased since the 1970s. It showed a notable increase in the 1990s, with the publication of novels by authors including Nancy Garden, M.E. Kerr, and Ellen Wittlinger. Today several lesbian-themed novels for young adults are published each year.

[edit] Publishers

An early publisher devoted to publishing lesbian and feminist book was Naiad Press. It has now became Bella Books. Virago Press, a publisher of women's literature, has also published lesbian-related novels.

[edit] Notable lesbian novels (chronologically)

• The Well of Loneliness, Radclyffe Hall (1928)
• Spring Fire, Vin Packer (1952)
• The Beebo Brinker Chronicles, Ann Bannon (1957-1962)
• Desert of the Heart, Jane Rule (1964)
• Patience & Sarah, Isabel Miller (1971)
• Rubyfruit Jungle, Rita Mae Brown (1973)
• Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, Jeanette Winterson (1985)
• Tipping the Velvet, Sarah Waters (1998)
• Fingersmith, Sarah Waters (2002)

[edit] Notable lesbian authors (alphabetically)

• Ann Bannon
• Rita Mae Brown
• Nancy Garden
• Radclyffe Hall
• Sarah Waters
• Jeanette Winterson

[edit] See also

• Lesbian teen fiction
• LGBT literature

[edit] External links

• Lesbian Fiction Herstory

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