The Oldest Gay Novels anthology celebrates a pioneering spirit, encapsulating a diverse array of literary styles from the late 19th to the early 20th centuries, marking crucial strides in LGBTQ+ literature. This collection navigates the nuanced dimensions of queer life and love, challenging the norms and moralities of its time through a blend of satire, drama, and romance. The editors have meticulously curated a selection that shows a rich tapestry of emotions and experiences, offering readers standout pieces that exemplify the courage and artistry involved in depicting gay lives in periods of less tolerance and understanding. The contributing authors, including luminaries such as Oscar Wilde and Virginia Woolf, bring a broad spectrum of backgrounds, perspectives, and literary innovations. Each writer's unique contribution underscores the anthology's thematic resonance with historical, cultural, and literary movements advocating for recognition and inclusivity. This converging of varied voices not only enriches the anthologys thematic depth but also serves as a testament to the enduring power of literature to advocate for social change and empathy. The Oldest Gay Novels anthology is an indispensable read for those interested in the origins and evolution of LGBTQ+ literature. It offers an unparalleled opportunity to explore diverse narratives that have laid the groundwork for contemporary queer writing. Readers are encouraged to delve into this collection not only for its historical significance but also for its ability to inspire empathy, challenge preconceptions, and celebrate the rich tapestry of human experience. This anthology is a testament to the enduring power of words to heal, to liberate, and to connect us across time and space.

Searching for an introduction to the shadowy, intriguing world of early 20th century gay-themed fiction? In Lost Gay Novels, respected pop culture historian Anthony Slide resurrects fifty early 20th century American novels with gay themes or characters and discusses them in carefully researched, engaging prose. Each entry offers you a detailed discussion of plot and characters, a summary of contemporary critical reception, and biographical information on the often-obscure writer. In Lost Gay Novels, another aspect of gay life and society is, in the words the author, uncloseted, providing you with an absorbing glimpse into the world of these nearly forgotten books. Lost Gay Novels gives you an introduction to: authors who aren't usually associated with homosexuality, including John Buchan, James M. Cain, and Rex Stout the history of gay publishing in the US and abroad gay themes in novels published between 1917 and 1950with entries from nearly every year! the ways in which the popular culture of the time shaped the authors' attitudes toward homosexuality the difficulty of finding detailed biographical information on little-known authors If you're interested in gay studies or history, or even if you're just looking for a comprehensive guide to titles you've probably never heard of before, Lost Gay Novels will be a welcome addition to your collection. The introduction from author Slidecalled by the Los Angeles Times a one-man publishing phenomenonprovides you with an overview to the basics of this landmark collection. Themes found in many of the titles include death, secrecy, and living a double life, and in reading the entries you will discover just why these themes are so common. As Slide says in his introduction: The approach of the novelist toward homosexuality may not always be a positive one but the works are important to an understanding of contemporary attitudes toward gay men and gay society. Lost Gay Novels will help you further your own understanding of the dynamic relationship between literature and culture, and you will finish the book with a greater appreciation of modern American gay fiction.

Examining the development of gay American fiction and providing an essential reading list, this literary survey covers 257 works--novels, novellas, a graphic story cycle and a narrative poem--in which gay and bisexual male characters play a major role. Iconic works, such as James Baldwin's Giovanni's Room and Christopher Isherwood's A Single Man, are included, along with titles not given attention by earlier surveys, such as Wallace Thurman's Infants of the Spring, Dashiel Hammett's The Maltese Falcon, Julian Green's Each in His Darkness, Ursula Zilinsky's Middle Ground and David Plante's The Ghost of Henry James. Chronological entries discuss each work's plot, significance for gay identity, and publication history, along with a brief biography of the author.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer culture is a vibrant and rapidly evolving segment of the American mosaic. This book gives students and general readers a current guide to the people and issues at the forefront of contemporary LGBTQ America. Included are more than 600 alphabetically arranged entries on literature and the arts, associations and organizations, individuals, law and public policy concerns, health and relationships, sexual issues, and numerous other topics. Entries are written by distinguished authorities and cite works for further reading, and the encyclopedia closes with a selected, general bibliography. Students in social studies, history, and literature classes will welcome this book's illumination of American cultural diversity. LGBTQ Americans have endured many struggles, and during the last decade in particular they have made tremendous contributions to our multicultural society. Drawing on the expertise of numerous expert contributors, this book gives students and general readers a current overview of contemporary LGBTQ American culture. Sweeping in scope, the encyclopedia looks at literature and the arts, associations and organizations, individuals, law and public policy concerns, health and relationships, sexual practices, and various other areas. Entries cite works for further reading, and the encyclopedia closes with a selected, general bibliography. While extensive biographical entries give readers a sense of the lives of prominent lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer Americans, the many topical entries provide full coverage of the challenges and contributions for which these people are known. The encyclopedia supports the social studies curriculum by helping students learn about cultural diversity, and it supports the literature curriculum by helping students learn about LGBTQ writers and their works.

While American gay fiction has received considerable scholarly attention, little has been given to developments in other English-speaking countries. This survey catalogs 254 novels and novellas by some 173 British, Irish and Commonwealth authors in which gay and bisexual male characters play a major role. Arranged chronologically from the appearance of the first gay protagonist in 1881, to works from the onset of the AIDS epidemic in 1981, in-depth entries discuss each book's publication history, plot and significance for the construct of gay identity, along with a brief biography of its author. Including iconic works like Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) and E.M. Forster's Maurice, as well as lesser known but noteworthy novels such as Rose Macaulay's The Lee Shore (1912) and John Broderick's The Waking of Willie Ryan (1969), this volume--the first of its kind--enlarges our understanding of the development of gay fiction and provides an essential reading list.

Gordon Merrick and the Great Gay American Novel is the first biography of Gordon Merrick, the most commercially successful writer of gay novels in the twentieth century. This book shows how Merrick’s novels were largely based on his own life and time as a Princeton theater star, a Broadway actor, a New York reporter, an OSS spy, and the friend of countless artists and celebrities as an expatriate in France, Greece, and Sri Lanka. He lived much of his life as an openly gay man with his longtime partner, Charles Hulse. His 1970 novel, The Lord Won’t Mind, broke new ground by showing that an affirming, explicitly gay novel could be a bestseller. His subsequent gay novels were both a cultural phenomenon and a lightning rod for literary critics. This book also examines the complex, often conflicting responses to Merrick’s novels by gay readers and critics, and it thus recovers the early post-Stonewall debates over the definition of “gay literature.” By reconstructing Merrick’s life and critical fortunes, this book expands our understanding of what it means to be a gay man in the twentieth century.

This text offers secondary ELA educators guided instructional approaches for including queer-themed young adult (YA) literature in the English language arts classroom. Each chapter spotlights the reading of one queer-themed YA novel, and offers pre-, during-, and after reading activities that guide students to a deeper understanding of the content while increasing their literacy practices. While each chapter focuses on a specific queer-themed YA novel, readers will discover the many opportunities for cross-disciplinary study. Thw emphasis on English language arts content as a focus for teaching LGBTQ young adult literature marks a shift from the first edition.

Gertrude Stein called it "the only really modern novel form that has come into existence," yet the mystery genre was a century old before it featured its first gay main character in a novel. Since then, gay and lesbian detective fiction has been one of the fastest growing segments of the genre. It incorporates gay and lesbian cultural elements and offers crossover appeal. Its authors call upon a century of development in the mystery genre, while providing new, more accurate images of lesbians and gay men than generally found in mainstream literature and popular media. This groundbreaking study of gay and lesbian detective fiction examines mystery series and historically significant stand-alone novels published since the early 1960s. Part I is an overview that describes how these novels make gay and lesbian life visible and forge new, powerful images. It also examines how they fit into the larger history of mystery fiction. The series analyses in Part II are grouped according to the type of main character (police officer, private investigator, amateur sleuth, etc.). Each section discusses main and secondary characters of that type, characteristic themes for the group, and more. The analyses of individual series cover main characters, themes, plot points and other elements. Comments from authors interviewed for this book play a central role in those analyses. Part III lists series-spanning themes (e.g., homophobia, the closet, gay marriage) and the novels and series that address each of those themes.

First Published in 2000. A rich heritage that needs to be documented Beginning in 1869, when the study of homosexuality can be said to have begun with the establishment of sexology, this encyclopedia offers accounts of the most important international developments in an area that now occupies a critical place in many fields of academic endeavors. It covers a long history and a dynamic and ever changing present, while opening up the academic profession to new scholarship and new ways of thinking. A groundbreaking new approach While gays and lesbians have shared many aspects of life, their histories and cultures developed in profoundly different ways. To reflect this crucial fact, the encyclopedia has been prepared in two separate volumes assuring that both histories receive full, unbiased attention and that a broad range of human experience is covered. Written for and by a wide range of people Intended as a reference for students and scholars in all fields, as well as for the general public, the encyclopedia is written in user-friendly language. At the same time it maintains a high level of scholarship that incorporates both passion and objectivity. It is written by some of the most famous names in the field, as well as new scholars, whose research continues to advance gender studies into the future.

I love to read books. I love to write books. So I decided to write a book about reading books, says David G. Hallman about this collection of short stories, each of which revolves around the characters interaction with a piece of literature. Combining fiction, creative non-fiction, and semifictionalized autobiography, Hallman has crafted tales that draw readers into his characters complex lives using the lens of books such as Paul Bowless The Sheltering Sky, John Le Carrs The Constant Gardener, E. M. Forsters Maurice, Patricia Nell Warrens The Front Runner, Robertson Daviess Fifth Business, and Hallmans own memoir August Farewell. Some of the stories focus specifically on the literary work. In others, the role of the book in the plot is quite subtle. The stories are emotionally engaging and intellectually stimulating with some being sexually explicit. Each one is a dramatic exploration of the joys and heartaches, the thrills and conflicts inherent in personal and social relationships. The connecting theme of the role of books illuminates linkages between art and life. The short stories in Book Tales with their gay plots and themes depict the characters finding insight, courage, and inspiration through a variety of literary works.