The Well Of Loneliness

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Description

A powerful novel of love between women, THE WELL OF LONELINESS brought about the most famous legal trial for obscenity in the history of British law. Banned on publication in 1928, it then went on to become a classic bestseller.

Stephen Gordon (named by a father desperate for a son) is not like other girls: she hunts, she fences, she reads books, wears trousers and longs to cut her hair.

As she grows up amidst the stifling grandeur of Morton Hall, the locals begin to draw away from her, aware of some indefinable thing that sets her apart. And when Stephen Gordon reaches maturity, she falls passionately in love - with another woman.

Reviews

The bible of lesbianism * The Times *
The outpouring of support Hall received from members of the public around the world, who wrote to thank her for creating, in her heroine Stephen Gordon, a character with whom they could identify -- Alison Flood * Guardian *
Radclyffe Hall's The Well of Loneliness still holds a place as a beacon for sexual self-discovery -- Hephzibah Anderson * BBC Culture *
A pioneering lesbian novel * Daily Telegraph *
Beautifully written and constructed, with delightful prose. It is the standard-bearer; the lesbian The Grapes of Wrath -- Lee Lynch
The archetypal lesbian novel * Times Literary Supplement *
One of the first and most influential contributions of gay and lesbian literature * New Statesman *
Passionately felt and courageous * Spectator *

Author Bio

Marguerite Radclyffe-Hall (1883-1943) was born in Hampshire and educated at King's College Cambridge. She published five volumes of poetry and seven novels. THE WELL OF LONELINESS, describing the lesbian 'invert' Stephen, was banned on publication in 1928. Two years later she received the Eichelbergher Humane Award.