istically necessary but a bit too heterosexual to be convincing.

For some reason Misc Renault made an abrupt change in subJect matter and in 1953 THE CHARIOTEER was published in England. THE CHARIOTEER is beautifully written and some have said it is one of the better treatments of malo homoDexuality. While I am in no position to judge from a subJootive position, it is one of the best I have ever read, and I have read over 300 novels on the subject. It is tho story of one young man's personal struggle to accept homosexuality-and he is successful.

In 1956 Miss Renault made an even more amazing change: she remained with male homosexuality for subject matter but changed her setting to Ancient Greece. THE LAST OF THE WINE was heralded in both England and America and for the first time Miss Ronault was a very well-known author as well as a successful one. This sudden public notice and the excellant sales of her book are almost surprising when one realizes that a really well-written book is soldom a popular book and, of course, a book which treats of male homosexuality as the highest of all possible passions is usually more than a little unpopular as far as mass sales are concerned.

In 1958 there was once again loud and well-deserved aoclaim for Mary Ronault. Her second historical venture, THE KING MUST DIE, is a novelized account of Thoseus, the legendary hero of Crete. As is expected, there is a liboral salting of homosexuality throughout the last half of the book, though not so much nor nearly as importantly as in THE LAST OF THE WINE. This year her publishor, Panthoon, is issuing the first American edition of THE CHARIOTEER.

Over a 20 year period one author has managed to put homosexuality or Lesbianism into five of her eight novels, theme, and one as background and atmosphero. It is apparent that if one is talented enough and intelligent enough to be discreet, then the question is how one writes not what one writes about.

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