I’ve just received my copy of Beebo Brinker in the mail bought from Amazon. It’s the last of a series of 6 novels published between 1957-1962, but it’s actually a prequel to all of them, so I guess it makes sense to read this first. I’m quite psyched, being deprived of lesbian-themed books in general. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the novel, here’s an excerpt from Wikipedia:

Arguably the most popular of Bannon’s characters throughout the series, Beebo Brinker is remarkable in literature - especially in the 1950s and 1960s. She refuses to dress femininely, and readers only once read about her wearing a skirt. In fact, she takes jobs that are clearly below her abilities (elevator operator and delivery boy) and declines a higher education because she knows these vocations would limit her to wearing feminine clothing. A writer who adapted three of the books into a play explained Beebo’s draw: “She’s a brave person who tried to pass as a guy at a time when most lesbians were totally under cover. Those women of that era who lived openly like that were heroic. They didn’t live in regular society, they really lived on the edge, they lived on some fringe.”

Read the rest of this entry >>