The Beebo Brinker Omnibus

Book excerpt: Designated the "queen of lesbian pulp fiction" for authoring five landmark novels, Ann Bannon's work defined lesbian fiction for the pre-Stonewall generation. Unlike many writers of the period, however, Bannon broke through the shame and isolation typically portrayed in lesbian pulps, offering instead women characters who embrace their sexuality against great odds. With Beebo Brinker, Bannon introduces the title character, a butch 17-year-old farm girl newly arrived in New York after she is driven from her Wisconsin home town for wearing drag to the State Fair. Befriended by the gay Jack Mann, a father figure with a weakness for runaways, Beebo sets out to find love. She never knew what she wanted — until she came to Greenwich Village and found the love that smolders in the shadows of the twilight world. The 880-page Beebo Brinker Omnibus includes the novels Beebo Brinker, I Am a Woman, Journey to a Woman, Odd Girl Out, and Women in the Shadows. Sexy, dangerous, and often touching, the paperbacks sold millions. Chronicling the reality of 1950s lesbian life, Beebo Brinker is an astounding and engaging read.