,
AAPI Heritage Month
John Horne Burns

John Horne Burns’s Followers (21)

member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo

John Horne Burns


Born
in Andover, Massachusetts, The United States
October 07, 1916

Died
August 11, 1953

Website

Genre
Literature & Fiction, Gay & Lesbian


John Horne Burns was a United States author. He is best known as the author of the 1947 story-cycle The Gallery, which depicts life in Allied-occupied Naples, Italy, in 1944 from the perspective of several different characters. In this work he explores the themes of material and class inequality, alcoholism, relations between the sexes, and sexuality in general, including homosexuality, with the encounter between American and Neapolitan culture as a general thematic backdrop. The "Gallery" referred to is the Galleria Umberto I in down-town Naples.

Burns's works often feature homosexual themes, and he is known as a gay novelist. As recorded by his contemporary Gore Vidal, Burns said that "to be a good writer, one must be homosexual, perhaps b ...more

Combine Editions

Average rating: 4.0 · 513 ratings · 123 reviews · 5 distinct works • Similar authors
The Gallery
4.03 avg rating — 483 ratings — published 1947 — 46 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Lucifer with a Book
3.52 avg rating — 23 ratings — published 1949 — 5 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
A Cry of Children
3.57 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 1952 — 16 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Galleria Umberto: Roman (Di...
by
0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
The Gallery (Summarized Edi...
by
0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
More books by John Horne Burns…
Quotes by John Horne Burns  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“To be a good writer, one must be homosexual.”
― John Horne Burns
7 likes
Like

“It takes time and tiredness and tension to hate a city.”
― John Horne Burns, A Cry of Children
1 likes
Like

“Education, boy, is not something to prepare you for life. That is a vulgar American error.… It's something to take you out of life.”
― John Horne Burns, Lucifer with a Book
tags: education
1 likes
Like

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics posts views last activity  
What's the Name o...: 'hotshot' WWII writer, wound up a failed expat 2 75 May 10, 2014 12:49AM  
Libri dal mondo: Campania 2 44 Apr 22, 2020 06:47AM  
Queereaders: February 2021 - What are you reading? 33 86 Mar 01, 2021 12:42PM  
Queereaders: March 2021 - What are you reading? 38 79 Apr 03, 2021 11:58AM  
Queereaders: June 2023 - What are you reading? 35 297 Dec 11, 2023 03:26PM  
THE WORLD WAR TWO...: Novels of WW2 1063 853 Nov 28, 2025 03:03PM