Chloe Plus Olivia: An Anthology of Lesbian Literature from the Seventeenth Century to the Present

by Lillian Faderman (Editor)

Spanning the literature of four centuries, this is the most complete compilation of its kind to date.



From On friendship by Michel de Montaigne
From La Nouvelle Heloise by Jean Jacques Rousseau
To the Evening Post by William Cullen Bryant
From The friendships of women by William Rounseville Alger
To Mrs. Mary Awbrey ; To Mrs. M.A. at parting ; Friendships mystery, To my dearest Lucasia ; To my excellent Lucasia on our friendship by Katherine Fowler Philips
To my Lady Morland at Tunbridge ; A song ; To the fair Clarinda, who made love to me, imagin'd more than woman by Aphra Behn
My divine Lysi ; Happy Easter, My lady by Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz
From The Hamwood papers of the Ladies of Llangollen by The Ladies of Llangollen [Lady Eleanor Butler and The Honourable Sarah Ponsonby]
Elegy ; Sonnet XII ; Sonnet XIII ; Sonnet XIX ; Sonnet XXXI ; Sonnet XXXII ; To the Right Honourable Lady Eleanor Butler ; To Miss Ponsonby by Anna Seward
From The letters of Emily Dickinson ; From The poems of Emily Dickinson by Emily Dickinson
Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti
Two friends by Mary E. Wilkins (Freeman)
Prologue ; Constancy ; A gray mob-cap ; A girl ; Unbosoming ; My lady has a lovely rite ; My darling ; Methinks my love to thee doth grow ; Beloved, now I love God first ; Lovers ; Beloved, my glory in thee is not ceased ; She is singing to thee, Domine! ; Caput Tuum ut Carmelus by "Michael Field" [Katharine Bradley and Edith Cooper]
Together ; Martha's lady by Sarah Orne Jewett
If you could come ; Yellow clover ; To one who waits by Katharine Lee Bates
The fire by Helen Rose Hull
The female husband by Henry Fielding
From Psychopathia Sexualis by Richard von Krafft-Ebing
From the psychogenesis of a case of homosexuality in a woman by Sigmund Freud
From A narrative of the life of Mrs. Charlotte Charke by Charlotte Cibber Charke
From "Rights of woman" by Maria Edgeworth
From The journal of Anne Lister by Anne Lister
Felipa by Constance Fenimore Woolson
From The pure and the impure by [Sidonie Gabrielle] Colette
Tommy, the unsentimental by Willa Cather
Two hanged women by Henry Handel Richardson [Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson]
Letters by Radclyffe Hall
From Vita Sackville-West's Journals by Vita Sackville-West
Femmes Damnees by Charles Baudelaire
Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu
Words of old age ; Crucifixa ; Sappho ; Vagabonds by Marie-Madeleine, Baroness von Puttkamer
Chanson ; Undine ; Your strange hair ; Sad words ; Roses rising by Renee Vivien (Pauline Tarn)
The long arm by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman
The Master-mistress ; Lee ; A dreanm of Sappho ; The sister by Rose O'Neill
From Regiment of women by Clemence Dane (Winifred Ashton)
From Nightwood by Djuna Barnes
From House of incest by Anais Nin
From The Gilda " 1850" by Jewelle Gomez
Monsieur Qui Passe ; My heart is lame ; Absence ; On the road to the sea by Charlotte Mew
Miss Furr and Miss Skeene by Gertrude Stein
From "Two speak together" by Amy Lowell
Bliss by Katherine Mansfield
When the green lies over the earth ; A triolet ; Brown girl ; You ; Your eyes ; Naughty Nan by Angelina Weld Grimke
Moments of "Slater's pins have no points" by Virginia Woolf
Fragment thirty-six ; The gift ; At Baia by H.D. (Hilda Doolittle)
Like that by Carson McCullers
Selected letters ; Everything is nice by Jane (Auer) Bowles
Despisals ; Looking at each other ; Cries from Chiapas by Muriel Rukeyser
Poet to Tiger ; A trellis for R. ; You are by May Swenson
From Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown
From Zami ; Meet ; love poem ; On a night of the full moon by Audre Lorde
From Twenty-one love poems by Adrienne Rich
A woman is talking to death by Judy Grahn
When it changed by Joanna Russ
Last summer at Bluefish Cove by Jane Chambers
In the attic of the house by Jane Rule
From The lesbian body by Monique Wittig
Amazon twins ; Sleeping Beauty ; Rapunzel ; Snow White by Olga Broumas
They did not build wings for them ; dinosaurs and larger issues ; Etlekhe verter oyf mame-loshn by A few words in the mother tongue by Irena Klepfisz
For Willyce ; My lady ain't no lady ; Have you ever tried to hide ; Brother by Pat Parker
For Sharol Graves ; Dream lesbian lover ; Getting down ; Your tongue sparkles ; Night visits by Chrystos
Her name is Helen by Beth Brant (Degonwadonti)
A Chinese banquet ; How can I show this poem to Geraldine? ; It's in the name by Kitty Tsui
Was it quite like that? ; In that particular temple ; Because of India ; We can compose ourselves by Suniti Namjoshi and Gillian Hanscombe
Later, she met Joyce ; La Dulce Culpa ; Loving in the war years by Cherrie (Lawrence) Moraga
Gulf dreams by Emma Perez
Dr. Frankenstein, I presume by Rebecca Brown
The penis story by Sarah Schulman
Runaways Cafe I ; February 25 ; Future conditional ; Saturday morning ; Bloomingdale's I by Marilyn Hacker
The finishing school by Pat Califia
Kittatinny ; what goes around comes aroun...

Genres: LGBT, Queer, Fiction, Lesbian, Anthologies, Feminism, Poetry

812 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1994

About the author

Lillian Faderman is an internationally known scholar of lesbian history and literature, as well as ethnic history and literature. Among her many honors are six Lambda Literary Awards, two American Library Association Awards, and several lifetime achievement awards for scholarship. She is the author of The Gay Revolution and the New York Times Notable Books, Surpassing the Love of Men and Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers. (photo by Donn R. Nottage)

Reviews

[Emerson Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

this anthology was left at my house by a friend before she moved a few states to the east. as a women's studies and english student in my undergrad, i enjoyed this collection greatly. i read it as background for a senior independent study project on queer lit. very useful. also, as i make a habit of naming my chickens after lesbians who lived and loved on the west bank of france in the 1930's, this anthology is also a useful reference.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This anthology is thorough, though not always entertaining. Academically it's an excellent collection; the contents are in chronological order and split into sections named by the general type of representation in literature predominate for lesbians in each period covered. You can really see the spectrum and evolution of how lesbians and queer characters were viewed in different eras of literature.

But as far as merely wanting to read more early lesbian themed literature... there's certainly a lot of it in this book, and if you're reading it merely for informative purposes or historical context, this is perfect. However, if you're looking for romance, happy endings, positive or at least neural images of queer characters and women in relationships with other women... I would honestly suggest trying a more modern anthology instead. From reading this anthology, it seems early queer literature was more about demonizing, diagnosing, or in some other way attempting to 'explain' lesbians and bisexuals rather than really representing them. (And that includes some things written by lesbians and bisexuals themselves.) It's only positive if in reading it you can hold onto the thought that, well, at least we've come a long way.

[Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection has something for everyone. I found new gems such as Amy Lowell who, like Gertrude Stein, was writing in a time when it was wisest to obfuscate. I get great pleasure out of imagining certain of Amy Lowell's contemporaries reading "The Weather-Cock Points South" and sayin' "oh that's just lovely, I love flowers too".

[Sonnydee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my new Bible. I'm gonna keep it on my bedside table. A great collection, kinda Euro-centric and by no means definitive, but Faderman explains why she made the decisions she did with what to include. A damn good entry (probably first entry!) in the field of lesbian literary tradition. Glad to see my fave, Joanna Russ, included. Faderman is the best.

[David]

A very different collection from Alberto Manguel's Meanwhile, in another part of the forest. Faderman ranges over more time and more genres in her collection, and there is a scholarly component providing further reading for each author. The women seem to be, generally, more genteel and less specific than the men. I have the same general reaction to this book as to its male counterpart: I am more interested in texts which engage the emotional challenges and consequences of the same-sex relationships than in those which address explicitly the physical practices.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't adore every piece in this - in fact there was one I found super uncomfortable, and several I didn't particularly jive with - but as a reference book it's absolutely phenomenal. And since that's its purpose, I'm not going to approach rating it like I would any other anthology.

[Kat Wasberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the organization and scope of this anthology. The book is split up into themes based on the way lesbianism and bisexuality was being represented in writing at the time (romantic friendship, a man trapped in a woman's body, exotic and evil lesbians, etc.) A brief biographical sketch precedes each excerpt by a female writer, giving historical and personal context to the pieces.

Not all of the writing is gripping, but overall it's a good review of the evolution of lesbian writing, and a great insight into the lives of lesbian and bisexual authors.

[Michele Chamberlain · Rating 4 out of 5]

I fell in love over and over reading this book. It is stunning, captivating, gripping and emotional. Every page take the reader into a new place. Sometimes grabbing you, wanting to clinch the book and not let go. I took my time reading this book, I was on a quest to fill a void of purpose. This book taught me everything I know and love about being a woman! A must read for any woman open to experience.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Willing to lend this one out if you are asked to select a reading for a lesbian wedding, but you have to give it back because it was a gift!

[Vasha7]

My journal entry

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written anthology.

[Andi Plouffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well done collection of lesbian works of art.

[megan]

anthologies are just always so problematic.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

a must have if you read lesbian writing. great reference material.

[Lauren Wilson]

want to read

[Maren]

everything is in this book. i love it and keep it on the shelf next to my bed.

[Dom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still continuing the anthology. Eventually, it's pages, once read, will live on as art. Not all of the work is all-star material, but I'm grateful for this book's existence in the world and it is surely a worthy exploration.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I usually liked the author bios more than the actual literature, funnily enough. I was sometimes mystified at certain author's selected works, but overall it was very interesting.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't have time to read it cover to cover but focused on overviews and biographies of each author. Such a tapestry of literature. It's a world unfolding in a single volume.

[Radclyffe U-Haul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some favorites so far:
-Michael Fields' poems
-Helen Rose Hull's The Fire
-Constance Fenimore Woolson's Felipa
-The excerpt from Colette's The Pure and the Impure
-Willa Cather's Tommy the Unsentimental
-Henry Handel Richardson's Two Hanged Women
-The excerpt from Vita Sackville-West's journals
-Rose O'Neill's poems
-The except from Jewelle Gomez' The Gilda Stories: Expanded 25th Anniversary Edition

[Michi Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Otherwise too "classic" for my tastes, this book is thoroughly enjoyable and does get good and sexy. It's also very validating of a natural woman's sexual feelings. It's obviously very beautiful and poetic and is great to read a little bit of each evening.