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The Gaudy Image
An early, pre-Stonewall classic of gay literature, describing life among the community in New Orleans. Thomas Schwartz (aka Titania, Queen of the Fairies), wanders about in search of the Gaudy Image--that most masculine man, a dream lover who knows what he wants.
According to the book's publisher Maurice Girodias, "William Talsman" was the pseudonym of James M. Smith, whose name appears as the copyright owner of a slim volume of verse titled Notes From The Underworld [William-Frederick Press, 1961], the only other book ever published under the name "William Talsman".
The Gaudy Image has been completely forgotten, and unjustly so. A chronicle of the promiscuous gay lifestyle, set in the French Quarter of New Orleans, in both style and tone it's strongly reminiscent of Ford and Tyler's The Young And Evil, published by Girodias's father Jack Kahane twenty-five years earlier. Roger Austen, in his book Playing The Game, cites this book as a milestone in the development of the gay lit genre, and laments how few modern readers have heard of it : "Today only a few fly-specked, pirated editions are to be seen in the hardcore sections of secondhand bookstores, and hardly anyone has read this breezy star-spangled poem in praise of hunting, finding, and loving a grinning muscular male with black hair."
The book very nearly wasn't published by Olympia. A catalog of '58 listed "The Porridge Tasters," by M. Meeske, featuring drugs in NY, as the work to expect. That book didn't get written; this one did.
According to the book's publisher Maurice Girodias, "William Talsman" was the pseudonym of James M. Smith, whose name appears as the copyright owner of a slim volume of verse titled Notes From The Underworld [William-Frederick Press, 1961], the only other book ever published under the name "William Talsman".
The Gaudy Image has been completely forgotten, and unjustly so. A chronicle of the promiscuous gay lifestyle, set in the French Quarter of New Orleans, in both style and tone it's strongly reminiscent of Ford and Tyler's The Young And Evil, published by Girodias's father Jack Kahane twenty-five years earlier. Roger Austen, in his book Playing The Game, cites this book as a milestone in the development of the gay lit genre, and laments how few modern readers have heard of it : "Today only a few fly-specked, pirated editions are to be seen in the hardcore sections of secondhand bookstores, and hardly anyone has read this breezy star-spangled poem in praise of hunting, finding, and loving a grinning muscular male with black hair."
The book very nearly wasn't published by Olympia. A catalog of '58 listed "The Porridge Tasters," by M. Meeske, featuring drugs in NY, as the work to expect. That book didn't get written; this one did.
260 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1958
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
August 8, 2022
3.5 stars. Definitely glad I gave it a go and there isn't much gay classics that I know about so this was definitely an interesting read(or rather listen too). I listened to this as an audiobook and for the most part it was good narrated but some of the voices felt to over the top and ridiculous but perhaps that was fitting for them. But I feel I've could get more of a feeling for the characters of I had read them instead
March 7, 2021
Pre-Stonewall ephemera published in Paris, too explicit for 1950s America. Playful, thoughtful, sometimes erotic account of New Orleans underworld of queens, fairies, hustlers, tough guys and lonely hearts. At the center, Thomas Schwartz aka Titania aka Tit aka “the sloppiest slut who ever slinked down a side street” cruises bars and back streets in search of the perfect lover - The Gaudy Image. Shades of Genet, Rechy and Selby Jr. crossed with a bit of Tennessee Williams. “Wake up, wake up, sweet princess of the sigh. Your prince is stalking the bar.”
September 12, 2022
3.5, rounded down.
Few people have read this early gay 'classic' from 1958, which is a shame - hopefully this new edition by Muswell Press might bring it more popularity, although it must be said the book is abysmally copyedited, and although the cover claims there is an introduction by Jonathan Kemp ... there ISN'T - and if any book screams for contextualization, it would be this one.
I first came across mention of it in the book Playing the Game: The Homosexual Novel in America, which does provide some background on the book - which is touted as being somewhat of a cross between Tennessee Williams and Genet. While one can see influences of both, there is also more than a whiff of noir, and even the beat poets here.
The novel basically tells the story of Thomas Schwartz, an effeminate boy who runs away to the French Quarter of New Orleans and reinvents himself as Titania (often abbreviated to just 'Tit'), the Queen of the Fairies. His search for the titular perfect lover provides what little actual 'plot' there is, but for 1958 it is shockingly frank about queer relationships, and the myriad characters are indeed memorable. If it weren't for those frequent more lyrical passages that make little concrete sense, I would have rated it higher.
Few people have read this early gay 'classic' from 1958, which is a shame - hopefully this new edition by Muswell Press might bring it more popularity, although it must be said the book is abysmally copyedited, and although the cover claims there is an introduction by Jonathan Kemp ... there ISN'T - and if any book screams for contextualization, it would be this one.
I first came across mention of it in the book Playing the Game: The Homosexual Novel in America, which does provide some background on the book - which is touted as being somewhat of a cross between Tennessee Williams and Genet. While one can see influences of both, there is also more than a whiff of noir, and even the beat poets here.
The novel basically tells the story of Thomas Schwartz, an effeminate boy who runs away to the French Quarter of New Orleans and reinvents himself as Titania (often abbreviated to just 'Tit'), the Queen of the Fairies. His search for the titular perfect lover provides what little actual 'plot' there is, but for 1958 it is shockingly frank about queer relationships, and the myriad characters are indeed memorable. If it weren't for those frequent more lyrical passages that make little concrete sense, I would have rated it higher.
May 6, 2022
Interesting unapologetic view of queer life during this era, but not much story. My copy had a misprint, so 15 pages missing—read those on ebook version.
February 5, 2021
This book is an interesting artifact of the gay subculture in New Orleans, circa 1958 when it was originally published. The writing is another story ranging from Firbankian flights of prose to imitation John Rechy, bottoms versus tops. It was also difficult to follow any narrative as it jumped around in time and characters changed names. The last 30 or so pages were almost incomprehensible but I am glad to have finished it. I would only recommend this book for people who are interested in obscure pre-Stonewall gay literature
February 22, 2018
This is my first lgbt literature. What hit me was, the sheer beauty of the language and the narration skills of Talsman. This book is simply beautiful. Tragically beautiful, erotically beautiful, but beautiful none the less.
This is a forgotten book. Like all great works, it is the only book written by the author. What is truly inspiring is that, it was rejected by most publishers. Even now, it is very difficult to acquire.
Not being a homosexual myself, I always wondered, how a gay person feels or thinks. I have always been curious, still am, to understand the mind and the heart of a queer human. This book is the answer to my curiosity.
The book has such pure gems in it, such wisdom, which touches you, no matter what your sexual preference may be. After all, emotions are common to all, the only thing that is subjective is, towards whom we feel which emotion.
If you are an open minded reader, you will surely enjoy this one immensely. It makes you think and feel, the images it sketches linger on even after you close the book. The sheer erotism of the description by the author, left me gasping for breath.
It is a pity, the author didn't get the support and recognition due to him, just because of the prejudices and the financial mindset of the publishers of that era.
Wish Talsman had written more...
This is a forgotten book. Like all great works, it is the only book written by the author. What is truly inspiring is that, it was rejected by most publishers. Even now, it is very difficult to acquire.
Not being a homosexual myself, I always wondered, how a gay person feels or thinks. I have always been curious, still am, to understand the mind and the heart of a queer human. This book is the answer to my curiosity.
The book has such pure gems in it, such wisdom, which touches you, no matter what your sexual preference may be. After all, emotions are common to all, the only thing that is subjective is, towards whom we feel which emotion.
If you are an open minded reader, you will surely enjoy this one immensely. It makes you think and feel, the images it sketches linger on even after you close the book. The sheer erotism of the description by the author, left me gasping for breath.
It is a pity, the author didn't get the support and recognition due to him, just because of the prejudices and the financial mindset of the publishers of that era.
Wish Talsman had written more...
September 20, 2024
I read this novel over twenty years ago and enjoyed it immensely, in parts, but with reservations because it did drag (I do realise that I am opening a can of worms in using that word about a novel who a has a character called Titania Queen of the fairies) but it also had a wonderful joi de vivre. It was trapped in various tropes and cliches but there was no apology or attempt at justification through special pleading. I rather liked it.
What I remember most clearly is that within a year or so I read 'Lovetown' by Michal Witowski and I was amazed at how much the world of Polish homosexuality, when Poland was part of the Warsaw pact, resembled the world of 'Gaudy Image'. It was fascinating because, unless you are going to claim that Witowski was imposing things learnt post the collapse of the Soviet Union onto the past. I don't think he was, it would be absurd, but it was fascinating to see how universal certain types of pre Stonewall gay attitudes/tropes were, not simply in the USA but in Communist countries without access to influences from the west. The likelyhood is that the way the unreconstructed queen's in 'Lovetown' behaved had roots in Poland's pre WWII 'gay' scene.
It simply proves that novels like 'Gaudy Image' are more than curiosities, exactly what they might teach us is complicated, but it is real. This is novel well worth having a look at.
What I remember most clearly is that within a year or so I read 'Lovetown' by Michal Witowski and I was amazed at how much the world of Polish homosexuality, when Poland was part of the Warsaw pact, resembled the world of 'Gaudy Image'. It was fascinating because, unless you are going to claim that Witowski was imposing things learnt post the collapse of the Soviet Union onto the past. I don't think he was, it would be absurd, but it was fascinating to see how universal certain types of pre Stonewall gay attitudes/tropes were, not simply in the USA but in Communist countries without access to influences from the west. The likelyhood is that the way the unreconstructed queen's in 'Lovetown' behaved had roots in Poland's pre WWII 'gay' scene.
It simply proves that novels like 'Gaudy Image' are more than curiosities, exactly what they might teach us is complicated, but it is real. This is novel well worth having a look at.
January 29, 2014
Homosexual hoodlums in 1950s New Orleans. What's not to love?
Michael Bronski writes as an introduction that Talsman at times has "a lighter-than-air, Firbankian style that filigrees about in wispy paragraphs." A word of warning: it gets awfully dense. But don't give up, it gets better!
Michael Bronski writes as an introduction that Talsman at times has "a lighter-than-air, Firbankian style that filigrees about in wispy paragraphs." A word of warning: it gets awfully dense. But don't give up, it gets better!
February 11, 2018
Il libro di Talsma racconta la storia di Thomas Schwartz, alter ego di Madame Titania, che si trasferisce nella New Orleans degli anni '50 alla ricerca dell'uomo perfetto, sintetizzato nella "Gaudy Image". Attraverso i bar, i club e le stradine secondarie della città, si segue la vita di svariati personaggi. Talvolta il romanzo sembra un po' confuso, a tratti non è semplice seguire la storia. Ma da subito, si ha uno spaccato molto articolato di come era la vita gay in quegli anni. Tanti personaggi che si chiamano usando aggettivi e pronomi femminili, un mondo dove le vere identità non contano, sostituito da soprannomi. In cui la polizia sembra tollerare. E in cui comunque il mondo Gay (e in parte lesbico) sembra organizzato in precise caste, ognuna col suo ruolo. Eppure, il desiderio di amare di molte delle figure del romanzo (Tit in testa), racconta già di un desiderio di normalità che tarderà ad arrivare.
February 7, 2025
This book is of the bygone era of Patricia Highsmith and J.D. Salinger and yet was very ahead of its time. It is edgy and almost racy for this period, despite not being explicit in its innuendos. It has very interesting elements of gender and sexual identity.
I found it very poetic, and yet often hard to understand out of its overall implicit nature.
This book is almost much more a study in character and relationships than it is a plot driven novel. It literally feels like one is following around the main character and all whom they come in contact with perhaps on a drunken series of nights in the French Quarter. It kind of just meanders the whole way through. An interesting eye into literary history, but not entirely a carefree read.
I found it very poetic, and yet often hard to understand out of its overall implicit nature.
This book is almost much more a study in character and relationships than it is a plot driven novel. It literally feels like one is following around the main character and all whom they come in contact with perhaps on a drunken series of nights in the French Quarter. It kind of just meanders the whole way through. An interesting eye into literary history, but not entirely a carefree read.
July 4, 2024
read David Sedaris as part Pride month. then found this book on shelf, no idea when or why i had it. first assumed would hard gay erotica. but did find book a classic in way it conveyed life for drag queens in 1950's New Orleans. the poetic style went over my head to point i had to plow through. but still felt moved greatly. mostly i was impressed by way the world was so well defined in the character's existence. there was need to explain for hetero world, no attempt to justify the accepted violence, no effort to look for any more meaning for their lives. just an honest look at the pre-Stonewall world.
June 3, 2023
The edition I read was marred by poor editing, like missing punctuation marks & incomplete sentences that are not a stylistic choice of the writer’s (I assume!)
This affected my pleasure in reading, somewhat, but I still love the meditative prose, the imagery (especially the colour imagery which is kind of synesthesiac) & most especially the characters.
The comparisons to Genet are spot on.
This affected my pleasure in reading, somewhat, but I still love the meditative prose, the imagery (especially the colour imagery which is kind of synesthesiac) & most especially the characters.
The comparisons to Genet are spot on.
July 29, 2023
Puzzling , erotic , distantly alluring. Warrants a second reading
February 28, 2024
I liked the prose of the book.
The narration was like an episode of Ru Paul's Drag Race.
The narration was like an episode of Ru Paul's Drag Race.
February 22, 2024
a plotless fairy novel from the 1950s, this pulpy slideshow of hustler culture gives us a glimpse into a faintly sketched, surprisingly transgender, subcultural new orleans underworld. read in the same vein as Genet, indebted to him really.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews