LE CLERQ, JACQUES. Show Cases. Macy-Masius, 1928. Offbeat short stories, dealing with male and female homo-*sexuality.
LEAR-HEAP, WINIFRED. The Shady Cloister. Macmillan, 1950. Quiet, understated and sympathetic story of feminine relationships in a school setting—but without the melodramatic atmosphere of tragedy which usually surrounds such stories.
+ LEE, MARJORIE. The Lion House. Rinehart, 1959. Well-written attempt to capture and document the confused and shifting morals of modern suburban living. Brad, husband of Jo, starts the story by flirting with Frannie; this backfires when Frannie and Jo become friends. As the relationship grows more intense, it proves so disturbing that even after Frannie has admitted its nature Jo cannot accept it; Frannie attempts to solve her problems via psychoanalysis, while Jo continues floundering in her unresolved conflicts. This year’s best new novel.
LEE, GYPSY ROSE. Gypsy, a Memoir. Harper Bros. 1959, pbr Dell 1959. In a fascinating, probably largely fictional autobiography, the ex-burlesque queen/novelist shows one thoroughly comical lesbian character. This is really minor, but marvelously funny, and anyone who plows through all the crud we mention will get a real break from this.
LE FANU, SHERIDAN. “Carmilla” in Green Tea and Other Ghost Stories. Also in Vol III of “The Forgotten Classics of Mystery”, entitled Sheridan Le Fanu, the Diabolical Genius. Also in Strange and Fantastic Stories, ed. by Joseph Margolies, McGraw Hill, 1946. Fantastic lesbian vampire.
LEIBER, FRITZ. “The Ship Sails at Midnight”, in The Outer Reaches, ed. August Derleth, Arkham House, Sauk City, Wisc. 1951. Science-fiction or fantasy of a strange, unusual woman who captivates a whole group of college students; tragedy is touched off by their jealous rage when it is discovered that she has been making love to all of them—not simultaneously of course. Extremely well done, hint of allegory.
LEGRAND, NADIA. The Rainbow Has Seven Colors. N. Y. St Martins, 1958. After the death of The heroine her life is reviewed by seven people who loved her (as with Of Lena Geyer) including a lesbian who loved her and a young girl who wanted to.
+ LEHMANN, ROSAMOND. Dusty Answer. N. Y., Holt, 1927. Still in print. Well-known novel in which the heroine’s whole life is conditioned by her love for a college classmate. Delicate, beautifully written.
LENGEL, FRANCES. Helen and Desire. Olympia Press, Paris, 1954. scv, and you can’t buy it in this country legally. If you locate a copy you’ll know why we say you aren’t missing a thing. Seamy novel of a nymphomanic—- ing her way around the world. (It’s not worth going to Paris to read.)