Women in the Shadows is a lesbian pulp fiction novel written in 1959 by Ann Bannon (pseudonym of Ann Weldy). It is the third in a series of pulp fiction novels that eventually came to be known as The Beebo Brinker Chronicles . It was originally published in 1959 by Gold Medal Books , again in 1983 by Naiad Press , and again in 2002 by Cleis Press . Each edition was adorned with a different cover.
33-490: This book proved to be Bannon's most controversial and unpopular of the series, blurring lines between heroes and villains, especially on the tail of the triumphant and groundbreaking end of I Am a Woman . Bannon stated that the subject matter paralleled Bannon's own frustrations in her marriage. The content also focused on then-whispered of topics such as interracial relationships , domestic violence , and self-loathing in matters of race and sexuality. As Bannon explained in
66-479: A destructive way. They live together briefly, but their passion is no longer there. When Laura returns to Jack, they discover that a previous trip to get her artificially inseminated has worked, and she is pregnant. I Am a Woman I Am a Woman is a lesbian pulp fiction novel written in 1959 by Ann Bannon (pseudonym of Ann Weldy). It is the second in a series of pulp fiction novels that eventually came to be known as The Beebo Brinker Chronicles . It
99-579: A most unusual relationship. Laura has grave misgivings, but through time both of them get used to it, until Terry comes back and Laura feels pulled by the Village once more. When Laura goes looking for Beebo again, she learns how badly Beebo actually descended — Beebo killed her own dog and lied about the rape to Laura — to keep her longer, and when Laura left, Beebo attempted suicide . Terry's return causes Jack to return to alcohol. Laura finds Beebo again, who admits she has changed, unable to live in such
132-477: A mutual friend, Beebo Brinker (born as Betty Jean), a tall, swaggering, dark-haired butch . They meet later in the gay bar after Laura runs away from Marcie, unable to contain her attraction. After a few drinks, Laura is afraid to return home, so Beebo allows her to sleep on the sofa. From a desperate longing and loneliness, Laura sobers up enough to seduce Beebo and they begin a torrid affair. Laura tells Beebo about Marcie, and Beebo warns Laura that Marcie knows Laura
165-414: A party for their anniversary where Beebo remarks that hardly any couples make it together for as long as they have. The chapters begin with Laura's diary entries asking herself why they all drink and fall into relationships they know will be ruined. Their mutual friend, Jack Mann, watches as Beebo descends into alcoholism and Laura becomes interested in another woman. Tris Robischon, an East Indian dancer,
198-404: A vague gnawing excitement in her. Laura and Marcie develop a routine and Laura learns her new job. Marcie is constantly fighting with her ex-husband Burr, who comes around frequently to date Marcie, and in between fights, they sleep together. Finding that Laura tempers Marcie a bit, she insists that she will only date Burr if Laura is with her — which confounds Laura as she recognizes that she
231-414: A very favorable review, claiming, "the book is very realistic, the writing is excellent for a paperback, and the ending is so very happy that it sets the book almost in a class by itself. The author is sympathetic herself, but she pulls no punches. She definitely realizes the drawbacks as well as the advantages." In 1959, ONE, Inc. reviewed I Am A Woman , giving it mixed reviews for the descriptions of
264-439: A void in her life. She doesn't understand how the other girls are so fulfilled by the men in their lives, despite having tried. Every time she allows herself to be intimate with one, she breaks it off out of disappointment. Beth shares a room in the sorority house with Emmy, and convinces Laura to pledge the sorority. Feeling a pull to Beth, Laura delights in her presence and experiences jealousy and confusion in her attachment to
297-434: Is a book that basically all homosexual readers, both men and women, will enjoy reading." A 1969 retrospective of lesbian paperback fiction called I Am A Woman a "blockbuster" that heaps praise on the character of Beebo Brinker, "who carries off a barroom seduction scene that is surely a classic". Chapter 8 of I Am A Woman was included in a compilation of excerpts from what author-editor Katherine V. Forrest considered
330-533: Is attracted to Marcie and intensely dislikes Burr. Burr brings along a friend, Jack Mann, and they double date one evening. As a joke, he explains, Jack takes them to a gay bar in Greenwich Village and watches their reactions. Jack is an alcoholic , but is good-natured and has a self-deprecating sense of humor. Laura is intrigued by him, and his friends laugh at him. Jack returns the intrigue when he hears Laura argue with Burr's statement that he can make any of
363-538: Is confused, not sure what to do with her emotions. She takes Laura to a beach house for two weeks where Tris flirts with men and with Laura simultaneously. Not knowing what to do with her attraction to Laura, Tris relents to her advances, but does not enjoy it, and Laura is ashamed of their encounter. Laura returns to Jack, telling him also that Tris is married and is black and has been hiding both. Hearing about Beebo's further deterioration, Laura finally agrees to marry Jack. Laura and Jack get married at City Hall and begin
SECTION 10
#1732895665664396-474: Is exhausted by living with her harsh, judgmental father, who perceives that she failed out of school. Laura leaves home in the middle of the night and goes to New York City . She gets a job as a secretary in a medical office and lands an apartment with a roommate — Marcie. Marcie is young and very impulsive, but vivacious and puts Laura at ease. Laura moves into the apartment in Greenwich Village with
429-458: Is exotic to Laura, with a fascinating accent and story. Soon Laura begins taking lessons from her. Jack, disheartened once more after Terry, his boyfriend, has left him, begins to try to convince Laura to marry him, to which she responds in consternation since both are gay. Laura returns home from visiting Tris to discover Beebo's dog brutally slaughtered and Beebo bruised and battered from being raped , Beebo claims, by some hoodlums who found out she
462-409: Is in a new relationship with a young man, but who expresses his sincere doubt that it will last. After getting drunk and humiliating Beebo in a bar, she's left alone. Exhausted, Laura finally tells Marcie she's in love with her. Marcie, deeply moved by Laura's sincerity and intensity, admits that it was a game for her after all, but will try to return Laura's love. Heartbroken and ashamed, Laura leaves
495-466: Is in love with her and is playing with her. Laura refuses to believe it. Laura attempts to contact her father when he travels to town for a journalists' convention, only to be rebuked. Marcie finally stops speaking to Burr and Burr, frustrated, calls Laura at work and accuses her of being in love with Marcie and keeping her from seeing him. Laura begins to spy on her father and unravel under the strain of her relationship with Marcie. She depends on Jack, who
528-485: Is not so sensational as most pocket books on this theme. The problems of heterosexual love as well as homosexual love are equally well presented — with understanding and sympathy." In a 1969 retrospective of lesbian paperback fiction, Odd Girl Out was described as having "all the requirements: youth, sex, love, sex, hope, sex, and no real lack of sympathy. Author Katherine V. Forrest described purchasing and reading Odd Girl Out : "Overwhelming need led me to walk
561-693: Is on her way to meet Laura at the train station. He calls her relationship with Laura childish, to which Beth admits that she only loves Laura, not him. Charlie drops her off at the station and says she must make her own decision, but he will wait nearby for half an hour, just in case. Beth finally reveals the truth to Laura when she meets her at the station. Laura stays on the train resolute her love for Beth and even thanks her for teaching her who she is. Beth says her goodbyes to Laura and rushes off to catch Charlie. Novels published as pulp were never seriously reviewed in literary magazines; however, The Ladder recommended Odd Girl Out in 1957, noting that "the context
594-440: The 2001 edition forward of Odd Girl Out , Gold Medal publishers had control over the cover art and the title. Bannon's editor titled the book. Lesbian pulp fiction books usually showed suggestive art with obscure titles that hinted at what the subject matter was inside. For the 1983 and 2002 editions, the title was shorted to I Am A Woman . It is followed in the series by Women In The Shadows , also published in 1959. Bannon
627-508: The 2001 edition forward of the first book in the series, Odd Girl Out , Gold Medal Books publishers had control over the cover art and the title. Bannon's publisher titled the book. Lesbian pulp fiction books usually showed suggestive art with obscure titles that hinted at what the subject matter was inside. Laura Landon has been living with her lover, a tough and strikingly handsome butch named Beebo Brinker, for two years. Their relationship has deteriorated and both are frustrated, even after
660-589: The apartment to confront her father at his hotel. They have a violent fight and Laura hits him over the head with an ashtray and runs. After wandering the night in the rain, Laura shows up at Jack's house fearing she killed her father. Jack and his new boyfriend take care of her. Laura shows up to apologize to Beebo and tells her she loves her. In an ending that was completely different from any previous work of lesbian fiction, they walk together to Beebo's apartment arm in arm. Although pulp novels were not reviewed by serious literary journals, The Ladder in 1959 gave it
693-454: The best examples of lesbian pulp fiction books, aptly named Lesbian Pulp Fiction in 2005. In the 1983 Joy Parks, author of the article "Pulps of Passion," read an array of pulp fictions novels by Ann Bannon and wrote review of them for the July/August issue of Body Politic . In this review she stated that I Am A Woman, along with Bannon's other novels, "proved that while love between women
SECTION 20
#1732895665664726-545: The book was published without changing a word of her second version, and it became Odd Girl Out . As Bannon explained in the 2001 edition foreword, Gold Medal publishers had control over the cover art and the title. Lesbian pulp fiction books usually showed suggestive art with obscure titles that hinted at what the subject matter was inside. Bannon was inspired to write her books after reading Spring Fire by Vin Packer and The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall . In fact, it
759-487: The emotions she experiences for Beth that she practices self-injury . Beth begins to realize what effect she has on Laura and teases her good-naturedly to watch what happens to her, but Beth is taken back by Laura's intense attraction and love for her and they begin an affair. This is compounded by her escalating relationship with Charlie, who is frustrated with Beth's vacillating between affection for him and her guilt for hurting Laura. Beth loses faith with her sorority and
792-400: The older woman. They go on dates together to movies and plays, and Beth considers Laura something of an enigma, unsure of how to reach out to her to get to know her well. Laura finds herself especially jealous of Beth's most recent beau, Charlie, who to Beth's surprise, has awoken some new feelings in her. Laura is often so at odds with her unemotional upbringing conflicting with the intensity of
825-437: The sex scenes and Marcie's "unbelievable" personality, but being especially impressed with Jack and Terry, the happy ending, and the fact that the book was written for homosexuals, as opposed to entertainment for heterosexuals which was much more common. The review read, "It is indeed heartening to read a happy ending in this era of suicidal finishes; and this is a complete happy ending...and works out quite logically. I Am A Woman
858-856: The university when, during a sorority costume party, Emmy gets drunk and her boyfriend, Bud, hoists her scantily clad over his shoulder and the top of her costume falls off. The sorority kicks her out after she is caught in the middle of coitus with Bud, after she was told not to see him. Bud is angered by this and feels partly to blame. He reassures Emmy and promises to marry her. Whether or not he will fulfill his promise remains ambiguous. Emmy writes to Beth about her frustration when she doesn't hear from Bud, and her feelings of estrangement from her community. Disillusioned and not sure what to do, Beth agrees to leave school to be with Laura. They plan to run away to Greenwich Village . Charlie corners Laura and she tells him about their relationship, triumphant that she can have what Charlie cannot. Charlie confronts Beth when she
891-411: The women in the bar straight if he wanted to. Jack asks her out again and shocks her when he tells Laura he knows she's in love with Marcie. Jack admits he's also gay and helps Laura deal with the realization about herself. She also confides to him that her father hates her because her mother and brother drowned and her father could not save them. After going out a couple times, Jack introduces Laura to
924-464: Was Marijane Meaker (Vin Packer's real name) that Bannon wrote to and who introduced her to her publisher at Gold Medal Books. Bannon was 22 years old when she began writing Odd Girl Out . Laura Landon is a sheltered freshman at a fictional university in a midwestern town. Intensely shy and introverted, she is drawn to the president of the student union, Beth Cullison. Beth is outgoing and friendly, experienced socially (with men, particularly) but feels
957-683: Was a woman. Laura tends to Beebo for weeks after, but knows her heart is not in it. Laura's lessons with Tris turn more intimate as Beebo refuses to go to work and drinks constantly instead. Fueled by boredom and alcohol, Beebo becomes controlling and suspicious of Laura, and when Tris visits unexpectedly, Beebo assaults Tris and later hits Laura in a rage, after which Laura leaves her. Laura goes to Jack, not knowing where else to turn. Jack proposes an atypical marriage to her: they would live together and perhaps have children, but they would never sleep together, and both could have their affairs if they wanted, but quietly. Tris finds herself attracted to Laura but
990-401: Was adorned with a different cover. Not until 1983 did author Bannon learn that her first novel was the second best-selling paperback of 1957. Bannon's original story submitted to Gold Medal Books was about events in a sorority , in which a subplot involved an affair two women were having. Her editor handed it back to her and told her to focus on the two women. When she returned to the editor,
1023-489: Was difficult, it was a possibility." She also hailed Bannon's work as "lesbian classic." Odd Girl Out (novel) Odd Girl Out is a lesbian pulp fiction novel written in 1957 by Ann Bannon (pseudonym of Ann Weldy), the first in a series of pulp fiction novels that eventually came to be known as The Beebo Brinker Chronicles . It was originally published in 1957 by Gold Medal Books , again in 1983 by Naiad Press , and again in 2001 by Cleis Press . Each edition
Women in the Shadows - Misplaced Pages Continue
1056-417: Was inspired to write after reading The Well of Loneliness and Spring Fire . However, it was in this book that Bannon wrote one of the first endings in a work of lesbian fiction where none of the characters commit suicide, goes insane, is killed, or is left completely alone. In an interview in 2003, she reluctantly admitted this was her favorite of the series. One year after leaving college, Laura Landon
1089-449: Was originally published in 1959 by Gold Medal Books , again in 1983 by Naiad Press , and again in 2002 by Cleis Press . Its original title with Gold Medal Books was I Am a Woman In Love With A Woman Must Society Reject Me? Bannon wanted the title to be Strangers in this World (from a conversation the main character has with a stranger who tells her that everyone is a stranger until she finds someone to love), but as Bannon explained in
#663336