Gay Novels of Britain, Ireland and the Commonwealth, 1881-1981 : A Reader's Guide

D. Gunn

While American gay fiction has received considerable scholarly attention, little has been given to developments in other English-speaking countries. This survey catalogs 254 novels and novellas by some 173 British, Irish and Commonwealth authors in which gay and bisexual male characters play a major role. Arranged chronologically from the appearance of the first gay protagonist in 1881, to works from the onset of the AIDS epidemic in 1981, in-depth entries discuss each book's publication history, plot and significance for the construct of gay identity, along with a brief biography of its author. Including iconic works like Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) and E.M. Forster's Maurice, as well as lesser known but noteworthy novels such as Rose Macaulay's The Lee Shore (1912) and John Broderick's The Waking of Willie Ryan (1969), this volume enlarges our understanding of the development of gay fiction and provides an essential reading list.