LESBIANA

110. MEMOIRS OF A NUN BY DENIS DIDEROT. LODON,ELEK BOOKS 1959. (TRANS. FROM THE FRENCH "LA RELIGIEUSE" BY FRANCIS BIRRELL)

THIS IS THE FIRST ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THIS CLASSIC LESBIAN NOVEL SINCE 1928. ALTHOUGH THE BOOK WAS WRITTEN IN 1760 IT IS REMARKABLY OVERT. AS IT WAS INTENDED TO SOUND AS IF A YOUNG UNTUTORED GIRL WAS THE AUTHOR, THE BOOK READS RAPIDLY WITHOUT THE INVOLVED STYLE USUALLY FOUND IN BOOKS AS OLD AS THIS. ANY LESBIANA COLLECTOR WILL WANT THIS AND A COMPLETE PLOT REVIEW CAN BE FOUND IN FOSTER'S SEX VARIANT OMEN IN LITERATURE. PRIMARILY THE STORY OF A YOUNG NUN'S INNOCENT LOVE AFFAIR WITH ANOTHER NUN AND THEN THE CALCULATED CARESSES OF AN OLDER MOTHER SUPERIOR.

111. A WOMEN CALLED DESIRE BY RICHARD MARSHE. BERKLEY BOOKS, 1959 (RELEASED 1959 COPYRIGHT, 1950.)

ONE OF THE 4TH RATE TREATMENTS, HEAVY ON SEX AND LIGHT ON PLOT. BOTH OF THE WOMEN SEEM FAR UNLIKE ANY PLAUSIBLE LESBIAN. THE HEROINE COMES FR A POOR BACKGROUND AND IS ADOPTED BY A RICH RELATIVE AND SO FORTH. ALONG THE WAY SHE EXPERIMENTS WITH A GIRLFRIEND BUT EVERYONE ENDS UP "NORMAL".

112. THE ODD ONES BY EDWINA WARK (EDWIN J. FADIMAN). BERKLEY, 1959.

THIS AUTHOR'S FIRST NOVEL UNDER THIS PSEUDONUM WAS "MY SISTER, MY BELOVED" AND THE TREATMENT OF LESBIANISM WAS UTTERLY REPULSIVE. NOW IN THIS NOVEL, THE AUTHOR IS VERY SYMPATHETIC TO THE MORE DESIRABLE TYPES OF LESBIANS AND HIS STORY OF THE LOVE OF JEAN AND SHERRI HAS SOME REAL MERIT. THE WRITING IS SLICK, AND THE PLOTTING IS FAR-FETCHED BUT THE MESSAGE IS PRETTY GOOD. NO CLASSIC, BUT THE UP BEAT ENDING AND SLUGS OF GOOD PROPAGANDA THROUGHOUT WILL APPEAL TO MOST LESBIANA READERS. (HE HAS LITTLE COMPASSION BUT A CLEAR AN UNBIASED HEAD HAS MERIT.)

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