LGBTQ+ Literature Lesbian Pulp Fiction by Women Writers 1960 to 1963 Including Either is Love by Elisabeth Craigin

Elisabeth Craigin Dorene Clark

Collection

Craigin, Elisabeth. Either is Love. Marsden, Martha. Intimate. Clark, Dorene. Different. Morell, Lee. Nurses’ Quarters. Thomas, Loretta Haig. No Man’s Land. These early 1960s lesbian pulp novels, all authored by women, document the articulation of same-sex relationships and identity within a commercial paperback market largely shaped by male pseudonymous writers. Issued between 1960 and 1963, these works provide direct evidence of how lesbian desire, social stigma, and interpersonal relationships were narrated during a period when homosexuality remained criminalized and widely pathologized in the United States. Elisabeth Craigin’s Either is Love, first published in 1937 and reissued here in paperback form, stands apart as an early autobiographical account of bisexual and lesbian experience, presented through an epistolary structure advocating tolerance toward “interfeminine romance.” Other authors in the group explore themes of self-recognition, emotional conflict, and social marginalization, with several titles aligning with evaluative frameworks developed by Barbara Grier identifying works with sustained lesbian characters and narrative focus. Together, these texts contribute to early formations of lesbian-authored print culture prior to the emergence of organized gay and lesbian liberation movements.

Clark, Dorene. Different. New York: Beacon Books, 1960. First edition. Mass-market paperback.
Marsden, Martha. Intimate. New York: Tower Publications, 1961. First edition. Mass-market paperback.
Morell, Lee. Nurses’ Quarters. New York: Universal Publishing and Distributing Corporation, 1960. First edition. Mass-market paperback.
Thomas, Loretta Haig. No Man’s Land. North Hollywood, California: Frimac Publications Carousel Books, 1963. First edition. Mass-market paperback.
Craigin, Elisabeth. Either is Love. New York: Pyramid Books, 1960. Mass-market paperback.
Group of five paperback volumes issued between 1960 and 1963, each measuring approximately 4.25 x 7 inches and generally ranging between 120 and 250 pages. Illustrated covers follow mid-century pulp conventions, depicting women in intimate or suggestive poses paired with promotional language such as “She searched frantically for love, and found it, in her own sex!” (Intimate) and “Outside, so white and pure, inside, so depraved!” (Nurses’ Quarters). Narrative content includes romantic relationships between women, first encounters with same-sex desire, and environments such as professional and domestic spaces, including nursing institutions and urban social settings. Different presents a sustained romantic relationship between two women, while No Man’s Land frames its narrative through confessional structure. Craigin’s Either is Love differs in form, presenting a reflective, letter-based account of identity and emotional experience.

These works circulated within a rapidly expanding postwar paperback industry that enabled the distribution of controversial subject matter through inexpensive formats, while publishers relied on sensationalized cover imagery and language to navigate obscenity standards and attract readership. Female-authored contributions offered perspectives grounded in lived experience, interiority, and social negotiation, contributing to the development of lesbian literary traditions that would later intersect with feminist and gay liberation movements of the late 1960s and 1970s. Clean covers and interiors with tight textblocks; light handling wear consistent with age; overall good to very good condition. The grouping offers a focused record of women-authored lesbian fiction and memoir within mid-century mass-market publishing and supports research into sexuality, gender, and print culture.

Item #21035

Price: $785.00