Research Guides: Lesbian Studies: Early Lesbian Books

1890-1940 Titles

Mademoiselle Giraud, My Wife by Adolphe Belot; Émile Zola
Call Number: PQ2193.B7 M313 2002
Publication Date: 1891
Lesbians -- France -- Fiction.
English translation published in 2002 by Christopher Rivers.
Sappho, the Lesbian by Thomas George Johnson
Publication Date: 1899
Available online at Google Books.
Das Lesbische Weib: eine Darstellung der Konträrsexuellen weiblichen Erotik by Franz Scott
Publication Date: 1910
Lesbianism -- Germany -- History.
Lesbianism in literature.
Lesbians' writings -- History and criticism.
Lesbian culture.
Regiment of Women by Clemence Dane [Winifred Ashton]
Call Number: PR6001.S5 R40
Publication Date: 1917
Lesbian teachers -- Fiction.
Teacher-student relationships -- Fiction.
La Garconne: Roman by Victor Margueritte
Publication Date: 1922
Available online at Google Books, written in French. Available in paper at UK Libraries - PQ2347.M33 G3 1922.
The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall
Call Number: PR6015.A33 W43 1990
Publication Date: 1928
Lesbians -- Fiction. Banned outright upon publication, it is now a classic. First published in 1928 by Johnathan Cape in the United Kingdom.
Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence
Call Number: F L431La 1928
Publication Date: 1928
The first edition was printed privately in Florence, Italy, and could not be published in England until 1960.
An American Girl by Tiffany Thayer
Publication Date: 1933
Actresses -- Fiction.
Lesbian actresses -- Fiction.
Hell Cat by Idabel Williams
Publication Date: 1934
Lesbian teenagers -- Fiction.
Female juvenile delinquents -- Fiction.
School life in Paris by Blanche Lamont
Publication Date: 1935
Lesbian erotic literature.
Lesbians -- Fiction.
Diana; a Strange Autobiography by Diana Frederics
Publication Date: 1939
Lesbianism.
Scandal about Sybil: a Novel by M. Kerrels
Publication Date: 1938
Lesbianism -- Fiction.
Lesbian students -- Fiction.
Series: Tales of Passion Library

1940-1980 Titles

Female Homosexuality: a Psychodynamic Study of Lesbianism by Frank Samuel Caprio
Publication Date: 1954
Lesbianism.
Homosexuality, Female.
We walk alone by Ann Aldrich [Marijane Meaker]
Publication Date: 1955
Lesbianism.
Odd Girl Out by Ann Bannon [Ann Weldy]
Publication Date: 1957
Break-through title with women characters who embraced their sexuality.
Lori Hollet: Lesbian? by Monica Robertson
Publication Date: 195?
Lesbians -- Fiction.
Pulp literature, American.
The Tree and the Vine by Dola De Jong
Publication Date: 1961
Jewish women -- Fiction.
Lesbians -- Fiction.
Two Loves by Suyin Han [Rosalie Elisabeth Kuanghu Chow]
Call Number: PR6015.A4674 T960 1962
Publication Date: 1962
Two novelettes: Cast but one shadow & Winter love - a lesbian affair in London.
The Desert of the Heart by Jane Rule
Call Number: PR9199.3.R78 D470 1964
Publication Date: 1964
One of very few lesbian novels originally published in hardback.
Duet in Darkness by Rea Michaels
Publication Date: 1965
Lesbians -- Fiction.
African American lesbians -- Fiction.
Interracial gay couples -- Fiction.
From a Land Where Other People Live by Audre Geraldine Lorde
Call Number: PS3562.O75 F7
Publication Date: 1973
Lesbians' writings, American -- Poetry.
African American lesbians -- Poetry.
Ruby: a Novel by Rosa Guy
Call Number: JF GUY
Publication Date: 1976
Lesbians -- Fiction.
Lesbian teenagers -- Fiction.
Loving Her by Ann Allen Shockley
Call Number: PS3569.H68 L9
Publication Date: 1974
Republished in 1997. Considered first novel with an interracial lesbian couple and African American lesbian leading character.
The Lesbian Community by Deborah G. Wolf
Call Number: HQ75.6.U5 W64 1980
Publication Date: 1979
Lesbianism -- United States.
Lesbians -- California -- San Francisco.
Community life -- Case studies.

1980-present Titles

Compañeras: Latina Lesbians -- an Anthology by Juanita Ramos
Call Number: HQ75.6.L29 C660 1987
Publication Date: 1987
Lesbians -- Literary collections.
Hispanic American lesbians -- Literary collections.
Lesbians' writings, American.
Dream On by Chrystos
Call Number: PS3553.H774 D730 1991
Publication Date: 1991
Indians of North America -- Poetry.
American poetry -- Indian authors.
Lesbian authors.
Loving in the War Years by Cherríe Moraga
Call Number: PS3563.O753 L6 1983
Publication Date: 1983
Mexican-Americans -- 20th century.
Lesbians -- United States -- 20th century.
Spanish authors.
Nice Jewish Girls by Evelyn Torton Beck
Publication Date: 1982-01-01
Lesbians -- United States.
Jewish women -- Sexual behavior -- United States.
O Lesbianismo no Brasil by Luiz R. B. Mott
Publication Date: 1987
Written in Portuguese.
Lesbianism -- Brazil -- History.
Lesbians in literature.
Brazilian literature -- History and criticism.
Reclaiming the L-word: Sappho's Daughters out in Africa by Alleyn Diesel
Publication Date: 2011
Collection of stories by South African lesbian women.
Lesbians' writings, South African (English)
Lesbians -- South Africa -- Literary collections.
Sex discrimination -- South Africa.
Homophobia -- South Africa.
Sakhiyani by Giti Thadani
Call Number: HQ75.6.I4 T53 1996
Publication Date: 1997-03-01
Contemporary lesbian life in India and the history of lesbian desire from centuries past.
Sappho in the Holy Land : lesbian existence and dilemmas in contemporary Israel by Chava Frankfort-Nachmias; Erella Shadmi
Call Number: HQ75.16.I75 S27 2005
ISBN: 0791463176
Publication Date: 2005
This unique collection examines the experience of lesbians in Israel, providing insight into some of the institutions that have helped shape that experience.
Throw It to the River by Nice Rodriguez
Publication Date: 1993-10-01
Lesbians -- Fiction.
Filipinos -- Fiction.
The Words of a Woman Who Breathes Fire by Kitty Tsui
Call Number: PS3570.S85 W60 1983
Publication Date: 1983-03-01
Lesbians' writings, American -- Poetry.
Chinese American women -- Poetry.
Writing as Witness by Beth Brant
Publication Date: 1994-11-01
Women and literature -- Canada -- History -- 20th century.
Lesbians' writings, Canadian -- History and criticism.
Indian lesbians -- Canada -- Intellectual life.
Indians in literature.