LGBTQ+ History Early Lesbian Literature 1949 to 1963 Including Olivia and The Loving and the Daring in Mid Century Queer Print Culture

Dorothy Bussy Francoise Lilar

Collection

Bussy, Dorothy. Olivia and four related works, 1949 to 1963, document the emergence of lesbian subjectivity in mid twentieth century print culture through both literary fiction and mass market pulp, providing direct evidence of how queer relationships were articulated across European and American contexts during a period of legal restriction and medicalization of homosexuality. These texts trace a continuum from introspective literary treatments of same sex desire to commercially driven paperback narratives shaped by censorship and popular demand. Their authors engage themes of secrecy, psychological conflict, and social transgression, offering material for research in LGBTQ history, gender studies, comparative literature, and the history of sexuality, particularly in relation to postwar discourses that framed homosexuality within both moral panic and emerging self-recognition.

Five paperback volumes issued between 1949 and 1963 by Berkley Publishing Corp, Avon, Beacon Signal Books, Eagle Books, and Dell Books. [1] Bussy, Dorothy (as Olivia). Olivia. New York: Berkley Publishing Corp, 1949. A sustained portrayal of emotional intimacy between women within a boarding school setting, widely recognized for its psychological depth and later reprints. [2] Robertiello, Richard C. Voyage from Lesbos. New York: Avon, 1959. Integrates Freudian analysis into a narrative of a woman confronting same sex desire, reflecting mid century medical frameworks applied to sexuality. [3] Adlon, Arthur. She Who Strays. New York: Beacon Signal Books, 1963. Follows a protagonist challenging normative expectations through same sex relationships, emphasizing defiance and personal conflict. [4] Mallet-Joris, Françoise. The Loving and the Daring. New York: Eagle Books, 1957. Translation of a French novel centered on a controversial relationship between a younger woman and her stepmother, foregrounding power, class, and taboo. [5] Lait, Jack and Mortimer, Lee. New York: Confidential!. New York: Dell Books, 1951. A journalistic exposé of urban nightlife that includes depictions of queer subcultures within broader narratives of vice and spectacle. Typical examples are mass market paperbacks with pictorial wrappers, generally measuring approximately 4.25 x 7 inches.

Issued prior to the consolidation of organized gay and lesbian liberation movements in the late 1960s, these works preserve an earlier stage of queer cultural production in which representation circulated through coded language, psychological framing, and sensationalized marketing. The inclusion of both European literary fiction and American pulp underscores the transnational exchange of ideas about sexuality, while the presence of clinical discourse alongside narrative fiction illustrates the influence of mid century psychiatry on public understanding of homosexuality. Together, these volumes provide a layered record of how queer lives were interpreted, commercialized, and contested in print before broader legal and social transformations reshaped LGBTQ visibility. Light edge wear, occasional creasing and rubbing to wrappers, with age toning consistent with mid century paperbacks; overall condition very good.

Item #21292

Price: $725.00