Lesbiana...

17. OLIVIA by Olivia. William Sloane Associates, New York, 1949.

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A 16-year-old spends a year in a French finishing school near Paris, where she learns more about human relationships than found in her school books. "Olivia" is a poignant story, delicately told, by an older woman looking back on her childhood. It is the story of youth and first awareness.

The French movie, "The Pit of Loneliness", by Colette is actually an adaptation of "Olivia" for the screen.

SERAPHITA by Honore de Balzac (1834). Gebbie Publishing Co., 1898.

The variant as saint! Seraphita, an androgynous creature of devastating beauty, wanders alone in a sea of Swedenbourgian mist. As pure and noble as the seraphims she exemplifies, she lives and dies sans love, sans marriage, sans sin.

CARMILLA by Sheridan Le Fanu (1872). From "Green Tea and Other Ghost Stories, Arkham House, 1945.

The Lesbian as vampire! A very subtle and spinetingling mystery, written by a master in that field. It is remarkable for the time it was written, and is not a book to be read alone on a dark night.

THE GIRL WITH THE GOLDEN EYES by Honore de Balzac (1835). Illustrated Editions, 1931.

The Lesbian as conquistadore! A cloak and dagger romance, full of flamboyant action, intrigue and purple rhetoric. The plot is a little absurd, but otherwise delightful reading.

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