secretlesbians: Lesbian Pulp Novels with Happy Endings, Part OnePulp novels were a lifeline for many
secretlesbians: Lesbian Pulp Novels with Happy Endings, Part OnePulp novels were a lifeline for many gay and bisexual women in the 50s and 60s, a place to see themselves reflected and know they weren’t alone. Although tragic endings were a genre staple, it’s a myth that all lesbian pulp novels ended unhappily. Happy endings were rare, but even at the beginning of the pulp era, books were published where two women were together and happy at the end.Here are eight from the first two decades of the pulp period. Free links to the texts provided where available.1. The Strange Path (Torchlight to Valhalla) by Gale Wilhelm, 1938.“Morgen Teutenberg is an introverted 21-year-old woman nursing her dying father Fritz. She meets a handsome young man who is smitten with her despite her lack of enthusiasm. Then a childhood friend moves back into the street and new feelings are awakened.” [link]2. Diana, The Story of a Strange Love (Diana, a Strange Autobiography) by Diana Fredericks, 1939.A thinly veiled autobiography, Diana is the story of a woman coming to terms with her lesbianism through a series of failed and eventually successful relationships. Julie Abraham, in an introduction to a 1995 reprinting says, “It offers a defense of lesbian relationships that was unprecedented in 1939 and radical for decades afterwards.”3. The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith writing as Claire Morgan, 1952.“A chance encounter between two lonely women leads to a passionate romance in this lesbian cult classic.” [link]4. Odd Girl [Originally titled Anne Loves Beth] by Artemis Smith, 1959.A love triangle and a mistaken marriage leads a woman to discover her true desires. [link]5. Another Kind of Love by Paula Christian, 1959. Laura Garraway, after being spurned by her Hollywood lover, flees to New York City where she finally finds a place where she belongs. [link]6. The Girls in 3-B by Valerie Taylor, 1959.“Three young women move to Chicago and room together; each wants to emancipate herself from smalltown mores. Valerie Taylor skillfully paints a sociological portrait of the emotional and economic pitfalls of heterosexuality in 1950s America—and then offers a defiantly subversive alternative.” [link]7. Edge of Twilight by Paula Christian, 1959.Stewardess Val Macgregor lives a wild life, until she meets Toni, the new stewardess, and must come to terms with new feelings.8. The Dark Side of Venus by Shirley Verel, 1960.“A story of two women who defied the conventions of society for the only kind of love that could fulfill them.”(Please note: These books were written at a time when lesbian relationships were taboo in the United States and may reflect prejudices of the era. They may also contain confronting themes like violence against women). Source: The Lesbian Pulp Fiction Project -- source link