McMINNIES, MARY. The Visitors. Harcourt, Brace 1958. A diplomat’s wife abroad, fancying herself as Madame Bovary, attempts to use everyone around her for her own purposes. She has an affair with an American correspondent and also captivates Sophie, a countess, and an extremely well-portrayed character. One of the most sympathetic portraits of a lesbian in recent fiction, as well as a ruthless portrayal of women who enjoy flirting in both fields.
+ MAHYERE, EVELINE. I Will not Serve. Dutton 1959, 1960. This book, boycotted by many major reviewers, was written by a young Frenchwoman who committed suicide before its publication. Precocious, nonconformist Sylvie has been expelled from a convent for writing, in a letter, that she loves one of the nuns. The story deals with the unfolding pattern of Sylvie’s meetings with Julienne, an older novice in the convent. The conflict is clear; Sylvie’s creed is “I will not serve”—a statement of her refusal to become a good wife and mother—and she wants nothing of life but Julienne. Julienne, has given herself[38] to God. Refusing to accept this, Sylvie commits suicide. The book is profound and sincere, and on the basis of this one work the author’s premature death was a loss to the field of literature.
MAINE, CHARLES ERIC. World Without Men. pbo, Ave Books 1958. Science fiction of a world thousands of years in the future, where the men have all died out, reproduction is scientific and the women, having no one else to love, love one another. In defiance of all conceivable theories of heredity and environment, a few women still think this state of affairs is “unnatural” and band together to create a male birth, assuming everyone will turn normal overnight. Silly.
MALLET, FRANCOISE. The Illusionist. (Trans. by Herma Briffault). Farrar, Straus & Cudahy, 1952 tct The Loving and the Daring, Popular 1953. (pbr). Now well-known novel, by a young French writer, of a girl captivated by her father’s mistress.
The Red Room. (trans. by Herma Briffault). Farrar, Strauss & Cudahy 1956, pbr Popular 1958. Sequel to the above.
MALLOY, FRED. The End of the Road. Woodford Press 1952, pbr Berkley tct Wicked Woman, 1959. Good evening waster about a girl who is picked up by Charlotte, a truck-driver “dike” type; Charlotte gives Alice a home, but eventually Alice runs off with a man who is worse than she is. Surprisingly, for this type of thing, the author implies that there is a fate worse than lesbianism.
MANNING, BRUCE. Triangle of Sin. Intimate Novel (Universal Pub.) 1952, pbr Beacon Books 1959; same title, but author listed as Manning Stokes. Evening waster.
MANNIX, DANIEL P. The Beast. pbo Ballantine Books 1959, (m).
MARECHAL, LUCIE. The Mesh (trans, by Virgilia Peterson.) Appleton 1949, pbr Bantam, 1951, 1953, 1959. Excellent novel of a Belgian family; the weakling son marries, brings his bride into home dominated by his mother, shadowed by his lonely sister. Eventually sister takes the young woman away from her brother.
MARLOWE, STEPHEN. Homicide is My Game. Gold Medal 1959 pbo. Hardboiled murder mystery involving a teenage sex club—a businessman is involved of running it, but the real culprit is his daughter, Liz. She is also a lesbian. Evening waster.