Is there a horse that gets shot in this book? It was significant to Ernst to distinguish between sexual inversion, which pertained to a person’s gender role, and homosexuality, which focuses on a person’s sexual desire. Noting that the volume would likely sell at auction for $1,000 to $1,500 today, she called it "a landmark book in gay and lesbian modern literature of the 20th century.". Batte. So I read this for a Lesbian Literatures course, and I have to state from the outset that I am well aware of the *significance* of the novel in such a course, and such a subset of lesbian history. As her ambitions drive her, and society confines her, Stephen is forced into desperate actions. It is a subjective negative feeling related to the person’s own experience of deficient social relations. Ernst took his case a step further by comparing the language of The Well to the language of Mademoiselle de Maupin, a novel by the French author Théophile Gautier, which was taken to trial in 1922 for its depiction of a lesbian prostitute, yet was deemed appropriate — a major loss for the NYSSV. particularly dialogue, stephen’s speeches on her love, puddle’s (internal) acceptance, her mother’s rejection, they all broke me. The Well of Loneliness is a lesbian novel by British author Radclyffe Hall that was first published in 1928 by Jonathan Cape. Readers of The Well can find comparisons between Hall’s personal life and the life of the book’s heroine, Stephen Gordon, a female character who falls in love with a much older, married woman. Readers of The Wellcan find comparisons between Hall’s personal life and the life of the book’s heroine, Stephen Gordon, a female character who falls in love with a much olde… November 9, 1928: The Trial of Radclyffe Hall and Virginia Woolf's Exquisite Case for Freedom of Speech I was unsure how to rate it, but decided for 2 stars in the end: the story is a very good one, extremely interesting, but the writing is so dull you can't begin to understand if you haven't read it. From the "Journal of the History of Sexuality," an in-depth look at The Well's trail in America written by Leslie A. Taylor. Cape and Hall had lost their battle in Britain, and the topic of sexual inversion would remain a taboo in British culture. (SPOILERS), Goodreads Members' Most Anticipated Books of April. This is/was obviously a very important book, so it feels a shame to give it such a low grade but jaysus it was a bit painful after the novelty of the first 200 pages had worn off. Not depressing in a 'Im gonna slit my wrist with the sharp edges of the pages' depressed, more like a 'why is the word so cruel, where is my God now?' They had to hide their love if they ever found anyone who returned their affection. But before Batten died in 1916, Radclyffe-Hall, known in private as 'John', had taken up with the second love of her life, Una, Lady Troubridge, who gave up her own creative aspirations (she was the first English translator of the French novelist Colette) to manage the household which she shared with 'John' for 28 years. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The Well of Loneliness was banned for obscenity when published in 1928. This book is pretty Problematic™ (being a product of its time - content warnings for racism [inc. use of the N-word], sexism, homophobia, and some. She began her literary career by writing verses, which In a letter to her nephew, Virginia Woolf called out the cowardice of her colleagues: Most of our friends are trying to evade the witness box; for reasons as you may guess. It is difficult for me to say that reading this novel was a struggle because it is culturally important. The Well of Loneliness Quotes Showing 1-30 of 79. But they generally put it down to the weak heart of a father, or a cousin who is about to have twins. She grew up without forming lasting relationships, and as an adult pursued the affection of married women. The Question and Answer section for The Well of Loneliness is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and … All the characters in this book are purelyimaginary, and if the author has used names that may suggest areference to living persons, she has done so inadvertently. Banned Books Week: The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall Excerpted from The Well of Loneliness, by Radclyff Hall, first published 1928. Written in English — 506 pages Stephen is an ideal child of aristocratic parentsa fencer, a horse rider and a keen scholar. Preview — The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall. Wilette Kershaw, an American actress who was staging banned plays in Paris, proposed a dramatization of The Well of Loneliness. RADCLYFFE HALL’S The Well of Loneliness is the canonical lesbian novel that many people think they know; in some sense, it has become a part of queer folk culture. Melanie Albanesi is an associate digital producer for ANTIQUES ROADSHOW. I read this the first time around in 1988, during my first term at university, hiding it from my room mate, under the covers. Hall’s publisher, Jonathan Cape, was charged under the Obscene Publications Act of 1857, the same law that had sent author Oscar Wilde to prison in the 1890s. A motor ambulance unit of British women drivers did very fineservice upon the Allied Front in France during the later months ofthe war, but although the unit mentioned in this book, of whichStephen Gordon becomes a member, operates in much the same area, ithas never had any existence save in the author's imagination. While lesbianism was not considered illegal at the time, the book was deemed illegal for violating the Obscene Publications Act of 1857, and was quickly removed from circulation. I really like this book, but found it very, very depressing. But Stephen is a woman, and her lovers are women. A few times I sort of experienced Stephen as unrelatable because of how ridiculously wealthy she was, but then there were people like Jamie and Barbara to add counterpoint to it, there was just enough shown of the servants to undo the idea that. Ernst chose to separate the two concepts by categorizing inverts, like the character of Stephen Gordon, as “thwarted in life” or “not fully developed” as opposed to “homosexual," which he categorized as an involuntary condition rather than a choice. Go inside the movement for women's workplace equality in the 1970's. A depiction of Virginia Woolf's efforts to defend The Well of Loneliness. In preparation for his defense, Ernst researched the themes in sexology that Hall drew inspiration from. Start by marking “The Well of Loneliness” as Want to Read: Error rating book. "I know there's a lot of envious people hearing that story..." As she grow, Stephen begins to find love in women and eventually settles down with one in particular. Number 43 out of only 225 copies published, as Williamson pointed out, with Hall's signature on the slip case. 0 Ratings 46 Want to read; 3 Currently reading; 0 Have read; This edition was published in 1928 by Covici Friede in New York. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published Radclyffe Hall did a fantastic job showing the agonizing reality of being a lesbian in the early 20th century. The identification of Jonathan Brockett as gay by describing his hands as being “as white and soft as a woman’s,” for example, emphasizes Stephen’s conflicted feelings about his own sexuality and the femin. ...the book is presented as a tragedy ... [that] people who indulge in these vices are not tolerated by decent people; they are not received in society and they are ostracized. I'm sorry to have to say this, but it's what I felt about this book. Stephen was apparently based partially on Radclyffe Hall's life, therefore accuracy can't be doubted. Charting her romantic and professional adventures during the First World War and beyond, the novel provoked a furore on first publication in 1928 for its lesbian heroine and led to a notorious legal trial for obscenity. The Well of Loneliness was banned for obscenity when published in 1928. from [1987] The Well Of Loneliness 12'' Song The Well Of Lonliness; Artist McCarthy; Album I Am A Wallet/Banking Violence And Inner City Life Today Throughout her childhood Stephen is shown as a girl unlike others. I normally try to read quickly but this time I had to take it slow. I read it because it's a lesbian classic, and someone said that it was one of the first novels where horrible things don't have to happen to its lesbian protagonists. In 1907 she met a middle-aged fashionable singer, Mrs Mabel Batten, known as 'Ladye", who introduced her to influential people. Stephen grows to be a war hero, a bestselling writer and a loyal, protective lover. …”. ― Radclyffe Hall, The Well of Loneliness. that writing isn’t mind blowing but it is impactful. But Stephen, the main character, was too masculine in her physical appearance and clothing preference. By November 1928, Pascal “Pat” Covici and Donald Friede — who had created their own publishing firm just five months prior — scraped together the money to buy the rights to Hall’s novel. A behind the scenes look at the controversy surrounding the publication of The Well of Loneliness. I felt a hundred times while reading this novel that I had never heard such a sentiment expressed so perfectly. Hall drew much of her inspiration for The Well from the writings of the English sexologist Havelock Ellis. I think I checked out "One in Ten" along with it, heh. I don't know what to think of The Well of Loneliness. On August 19, 1928, just one month after The Well’s publication, James Douglass of the Sunday Express wrote an article calling for the immediate eradication of the book. According to some historians, the month of April is actually named after Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, by way of the Romans.... Stephen is an ideal child of aristocratic parents—a fencer, a horse rider and a keen scholar. But Stephen is a woman, and her lovers are women. Alternative title- The deep, deep, pitiful well of loneliness. Recently in these parts I declared that this novel was so dull that today it is essentially unreadable, and that its lasting importance has everything to do with history and not a thing to do with art. Yet there has been little sustained analysis of the biblical language of the novel. anyone could pick up this book and see clearly everything she's very clearly alluding to, so there isn't much mystery, but instead, a whole lot of straightforward honesty about an aspect of the world most overlook without even realizing. It follows the life of Stephen Gordon, an Englishwoman from an upper-class family whose "sexual inversion" (homosexuality) is apparent from an early age. The book centers around a girl whose father desperately wanted a boy and so named her Stephen. In the drawing rooms of Edwardian society, Marguerite made a small name for herself as a poet and librettist. Epic story. Almost immediately the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice brought it to court on the basis of the 1873 Comstock Laws, which aimed its legal glare at literature they deemed obscene and lewd. Throughout her life, Hall described herself as a “congenital invert,” which was a term taken from sexology and is derived from the idea of “sexual inversion,” referring to those who “believed their gender role was opposite to their biological sex.” According to sexologists, females who experience sexual inversion are described as possessing a masculine identity but living in a female body. I needed to feel every chapter, to feel every working part of this incredible story. No more than something like Twelfth Night did. "I Made Up My Mind to Get It": The American Trial of The Well of Loneliness, New York City, 1928-29 The Well of Loneliness was banned for obscenity when published in 1928. It follows the life of Stephen Gordon, an Englishwoman from an upper-class family whose "sexual inversion" is apparent from an early age. Hall proves that imagery does not have to be tedious and overwraught. First published in 1928, this timeless portrayal of lesbian love is now a classic. The Well of Loneliness is a 1928 novel by British author Radclyffe Hall. In 1907 she met a middle-aged fashionable singer, Mrs Mabel Batten, known as 'Ladye", who introduced her to influential people. The Well of Loneliness is a lesbian novel by British author Radclyffe Hall that was first published in 1928 by Jonathan Cape. I remember checking this book out of the public library near my house and hiding it from my parents, so I must have been about 12 the first time I read it. That same year, in honor of the court’s decision, Covici-Friede published a special deluxe limited “victory edition” of the book, a two-volume copy, printed with Ernst’s summary of the trial, and Hall’s autograph. Until the dreadful ending. Stephen is an ideal child of aristocratic parentsa fencer, a horse rider and a keen scholar. Yerk. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Buy The Well Of Loneliness (VMC) New e. by Hall, Radclyffe, Souhami, Diana (ISBN: 9780860682547) from Amazon's Book Store. If they didn't, they lived much as the governess in this novel as the unloved and lonely spinster. Across the Atlantic, the news of The Well had spread to publishers in the United States, many of whom were eager to buy the rights to the book. All very well and good. Ernst compared the explicit language presented in Mademoiselle to the more discreet language in The Well, noting that Hall’s book was considerably better written and held important social significance. it should be MANDATORY that everyone reads this book. Moreover, the trial that banned the book brought the novel, Radclyffe Hall, and the 'lesbian identity' into the public eye in a rather big way. first to openly deal with homosexual or inverted desire. show more. everyone. Not all readers will appreciate the Christian symbolism and theology but I did- the constant please for meaning and acceptance by a sort of outcast. Marguerite Radclyffe-Hall was born on the south coast of England. The identification of Jonathan Brockett as gay by describing his hands as being “as white and soft as a woman’s,” for example, emphasizes Stephen’s conflicted feelings about his own sexuality and the feminine sex, as well as his blossoming sense of gender dysphoria, as he feels “a queer little sense of outrage.” If one regards Stephen as a woman it seems completely illogical for Stephen's hands are not, after all “white and soft.” Rather, Stephen is full of the sense of smug entitlement that goes along with being an upper class gentleman, and so while this "Well" is certainly fascinating as historical trans-fiction, the reader is likely to find himself/herself in the end feeling as though he/she has spent way too much time with an insufferable prick, and wondering why. Written in English. Unfolding the Court Case That Banned a 1920s Lesbian Novel An international bestseller, and for decades was the single most famous novel. 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