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Splendora
Splendora, a steamy little East Texas town, is the setting for this rollicking tale of Timothy John Coldridge and Miss Jessie Gatewood, two people who couldn't be any closer. After being away for fifteen years, Timothy John returns to his hometown with Miss Jessie–who takes the town by storm. Splendora is completely captivated by the beautiful and eccentric librarian, a "true lady" and a vision of Victorian femininity. But Timothy John and Miss Jessie are hiding a secret, one that, if discovered, will rock Splendora to its very core. As he settles feuds and unites the townfolk, Timothy John is forced to come to terms with the town that spawned him–and himself–in the smashing conclusion to this breathtakingly original novel.
251 pages, Paperback
First published July 28, 1978
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 27, 2021
Rating: 4 very nostalgic stars out of five
The Book Description: The book description rots on ice. Here is the jacket copy from the 1978 hardcover I checked out of the library:
“Splendora: A steamy East Texas armpit of a town where Sue Ella Lightfoot furthers her study of “sexual motives” with every issue of Real Crime magazine while Agnes Pullens drills young ladies in the finer arts of Dance and Expression (tap-dancing, tumbling, and recitation inclusive) and Zeda Earl Goodridge faces a life of ruin if her Christmas yard display doesn't take first prize this year. Timothy John Coldridge was born and raised here, was fussed over and admired by all—Esther Ruth's beautiful grandson, Little Timothy John.
At eighteen, Timothy John left Splendora, unhappily. Now, at thirty-three, he returns with a dazzling companion: Miss Jessie Gatewood, the new hired-by-mail librarian, come to operate the county bookmobile. Draped (and impeccably accessorized) in Victorian finery and drenched in social graces, Miss Jessie takes the town by storm. But though it might be said that Timothy John arrived with her, it might also be said that he arrived within her...and therein lies the tale. Aided at every turn by a cast of relentless eccentrics, Miss Jessie endures a series of thoroughly splendid adventures. But while genteel romance, high drama, torment, and Technicolored bliss capture center page (Can the organza'd charms of a spinster booklady capture the cloistered heart of Assistant Pastor Brother Leggett? Will Maridel Washmoyer's yardful of Styrofoam igloos thwart Zeda Earl's anticipated Yuletide triumph?) a more subtle underscoring theme persists: What can Timothy John mean to Splendora...or Splendora to Timothy John?”
My Review: My 2000 review: "Seminal literary gay novel of my early queer phase. Wonderful writing and affecting characterization."
Well. Um. You see, I was really young when I read this, and in the throes of coming to terms with impending fatherhood. I figured if you were a gay guy, you'd like to be a woman, like Timothy John seems to want to be. (The idea of transgendered people was not part of my mental furniture.) I'd banged a bunch of guys by this time, and I knew for sure and certain that I wasn't interested in a life of bread-and-water imprisonment within heterosexuality's grim and cheerless razor-wire fences and brooding gun emplacements, but kid = duty so I did it. At least with other guys I knew what the hell we were talking about. But books like this one, they set me on a completely wrong path. Gay, woman...same diff, right, since Timothy John lived as a woman, right? I DO NOT WANT A WOMAN NOR TO BE A WOMAN said my insides. But look! said the outside world, it's in a book!
So I laughed when I was supposed to and patted myself for being Literary Enough to get the point of Swift's humid plot (Miss Jessie and Brother Leggett get engaged but Bro can't deal and comes out to Miss Jessie who says hey cool me too and they have a religion/salvation fight and one thing leads to another and Timothy John burns down his house while Brother Leggett is racing up to spirit him away to live as man and whatever and the town matriarch speeds them off with a happy {if toothless, this is East Texas we're talkin' about} smile). But reinforcing the wrong ideas in my head did not make my life easier, nor did a subsequent encounter with The Carnivorous Lamb with its brother-incest lovers. EWEWEW. No thanks! Gordon Merrick cheesy romances! Yes! But then there was that whole duty thing.
I held onto this as my idea of a Good Gay Novel for a very long time. Re-reading it now, at over 50, I realize it's an artifact of the author's past...it's set in some amorphous 40s-50s type time when there was train service to burgs like Splendora...it's gawkily written, it's pretty garishly bedizened with Faulknerian structural grafts and O'Connoresques of characters, and if this were my first read, I'd probably Pearl Rule it and move on with my day.
Time may indeed heal, but it also inflicts, wounds.
The Book Description: The book description rots on ice. Here is the jacket copy from the 1978 hardcover I checked out of the library:
“Splendora: A steamy East Texas armpit of a town where Sue Ella Lightfoot furthers her study of “sexual motives” with every issue of Real Crime magazine while Agnes Pullens drills young ladies in the finer arts of Dance and Expression (tap-dancing, tumbling, and recitation inclusive) and Zeda Earl Goodridge faces a life of ruin if her Christmas yard display doesn't take first prize this year. Timothy John Coldridge was born and raised here, was fussed over and admired by all—Esther Ruth's beautiful grandson, Little Timothy John.
At eighteen, Timothy John left Splendora, unhappily. Now, at thirty-three, he returns with a dazzling companion: Miss Jessie Gatewood, the new hired-by-mail librarian, come to operate the county bookmobile. Draped (and impeccably accessorized) in Victorian finery and drenched in social graces, Miss Jessie takes the town by storm. But though it might be said that Timothy John arrived with her, it might also be said that he arrived within her...and therein lies the tale. Aided at every turn by a cast of relentless eccentrics, Miss Jessie endures a series of thoroughly splendid adventures. But while genteel romance, high drama, torment, and Technicolored bliss capture center page (Can the organza'd charms of a spinster booklady capture the cloistered heart of Assistant Pastor Brother Leggett? Will Maridel Washmoyer's yardful of Styrofoam igloos thwart Zeda Earl's anticipated Yuletide triumph?) a more subtle underscoring theme persists: What can Timothy John mean to Splendora...or Splendora to Timothy John?”
My Review: My 2000 review: "Seminal literary gay novel of my early queer phase. Wonderful writing and affecting characterization."
Well. Um. You see, I was really young when I read this, and in the throes of coming to terms with impending fatherhood. I figured if you were a gay guy, you'd like to be a woman, like Timothy John seems to want to be. (The idea of transgendered people was not part of my mental furniture.) I'd banged a bunch of guys by this time, and I knew for sure and certain that I wasn't interested in a life of bread-and-water imprisonment within heterosexuality's grim and cheerless razor-wire fences and brooding gun emplacements, but kid = duty so I did it. At least with other guys I knew what the hell we were talking about. But books like this one, they set me on a completely wrong path. Gay, woman...same diff, right, since Timothy John lived as a woman, right? I DO NOT WANT A WOMAN NOR TO BE A WOMAN said my insides. But look! said the outside world, it's in a book!
So I laughed when I was supposed to and patted myself for being Literary Enough to get the point of Swift's humid plot (Miss Jessie and Brother Leggett get engaged but Bro can't deal and comes out to Miss Jessie who says hey cool me too and they have a religion/salvation fight and one thing leads to another and Timothy John burns down his house while Brother Leggett is racing up to spirit him away to live as man and whatever and the town matriarch speeds them off with a happy {if toothless, this is East Texas we're talkin' about} smile). But reinforcing the wrong ideas in my head did not make my life easier, nor did a subsequent encounter with The Carnivorous Lamb with its brother-incest lovers. EWEWEW. No thanks! Gordon Merrick cheesy romances! Yes! But then there was that whole duty thing.
I held onto this as my idea of a Good Gay Novel for a very long time. Re-reading it now, at over 50, I realize it's an artifact of the author's past...it's set in some amorphous 40s-50s type time when there was train service to burgs like Splendora...it's gawkily written, it's pretty garishly bedizened with Faulknerian structural grafts and O'Connoresques of characters, and if this were my first read, I'd probably Pearl Rule it and move on with my day.
Time may indeed heal, but it also inflicts, wounds.
July 28, 2013
Splendora and Sedaris' Me Talk Pretty One Day are the only 2 books that ever made me belly laugh. Want it ePub form so I can carry it around with me.
September 5, 2008
A wonderful yarn from Edward Swift, a storyteller extraordinaire. Swift enjoys his stories and is kind to his characters and this is one of his best. You will smile whenever you remember Splendora.
October 28, 2020
I’d never heard of Splendora when a close friend pulled the paperback from his shelf and handed it to me. I’d asked him to recommend a book for my LGBT book club—it would soon be my turn to choose a novel for the group, and I wanted a selection that the other members hadn’t already read. My friend thought this would fit the bill.
The bad news is, our book club changed to a movie club after the quarantine began. Many of us were too distracted and anxious to focus on reading a full-length novel.
The good news is, I read Splendora anyway. And the best news of all is that it far surpassed my expectations.
After skimming the description on the book jacket, you might think that Splendora is a comedy of (country) manners, like E.F. Benson’s Lucia novels. It might also seem like one of those “transformation” works, where someone—often someone from the city or someone who’s returning after a long time away—comes to live in a small town and makes it a better place. (I’m sure there’s a name for that genre, but I don’t know what it is, just think Cold Comfort Farm.)
Splendora bears some similarities to those works—there’s no denying that the novel is about someone who comes home after a lengthy absence and wreaks havoc on the inhabitants—but it is so, so much more. The central character, Miss Jessie Gatewood, is far more complex than, say, Benson’s Mapp and Lucia. She’s a real person with profound thoughts and plenty of inner turmoil.
In fact, I’m not sure I’d call Splendora a comic novel at all. To be sure, there are many funny scenes, but at heart, the book is about someone who’s trying to reconcile their miserable past with their hopes for a happy future. In a comic novel, only the longtime townsfolk would change; in Splendora, nearly everyone is transformed, including the protagonist.
I admit, Splendora can feel a little dated. (The author doesn’t really establish the time of the story, but it feels like he’s aiming for the early 1960s.) And the ending may feel a little strange if you’re unfamiliar with the ways of small-town life in America. But as someone who grew up in a place that’s a lot like Splendora, it felt true and even a little hopeful.
The bad news is, our book club changed to a movie club after the quarantine began. Many of us were too distracted and anxious to focus on reading a full-length novel.
The good news is, I read Splendora anyway. And the best news of all is that it far surpassed my expectations.
After skimming the description on the book jacket, you might think that Splendora is a comedy of (country) manners, like E.F. Benson’s Lucia novels. It might also seem like one of those “transformation” works, where someone—often someone from the city or someone who’s returning after a long time away—comes to live in a small town and makes it a better place. (I’m sure there’s a name for that genre, but I don’t know what it is, just think Cold Comfort Farm.)
Splendora bears some similarities to those works—there’s no denying that the novel is about someone who comes home after a lengthy absence and wreaks havoc on the inhabitants—but it is so, so much more. The central character, Miss Jessie Gatewood, is far more complex than, say, Benson’s Mapp and Lucia. She’s a real person with profound thoughts and plenty of inner turmoil.
In fact, I’m not sure I’d call Splendora a comic novel at all. To be sure, there are many funny scenes, but at heart, the book is about someone who’s trying to reconcile their miserable past with their hopes for a happy future. In a comic novel, only the longtime townsfolk would change; in Splendora, nearly everyone is transformed, including the protagonist.
I admit, Splendora can feel a little dated. (The author doesn’t really establish the time of the story, but it feels like he’s aiming for the early 1960s.) And the ending may feel a little strange if you’re unfamiliar with the ways of small-town life in America. But as someone who grew up in a place that’s a lot like Splendora, it felt true and even a little hopeful.
July 6, 2025
I've carried the title of this novel in my head since 1978. When I was a bored thirteen-year-old, newly arrived to Houston with no friends, I regularly watched a local talk show on KPRC hosted by Nancy Ames. She interviewed the author, Edward Swift, about his first novel, Splendora. A few years ago, when visiting my daughter on the campus of Columbia College Chicago, the school theatre department was doing a performance of a musical version of Splendora that I had never heard of. I finally decided to read this short novel and take a break from my regular SF reading.
I didn't like this book because it is a Gay novel; I didn't like it because of all the southern small gossip and comedy. The plot about Edward and Miss Jessica and Brother Leggett was only about five percent of the book and it should have been the bulk of the book. If that part of the story had been developed such that you felt what the characters were feeling along with all of their motivations, it would have been a much more interesting book.
I didn't like this book because it is a Gay novel; I didn't like it because of all the southern small gossip and comedy. The plot about Edward and Miss Jessica and Brother Leggett was only about five percent of the book and it should have been the bulk of the book. If that part of the story had been developed such that you felt what the characters were feeling along with all of their motivations, it would have been a much more interesting book.
February 10, 2021
"-she was always too serious to laugh at herself. never found herself as entertaining as the rest of us did .. " --ibid
February 18, 2014
Original Blog Post: http://headouttheoven.blogspot.com/20...
There are so many stigmas attached to cross dressing and/or transvestism. Those in the not-know-how may even go so far as saying that it is a form of insanity. Edward Swift's take on this taboo subject made me realize that not all really could know what is going on. He did go to some lengths that were funny and kind of ridiculous, but then it made me think that those who read this may just assume the worst.
This is a novel about a small town's small-mindedness and how gossip can get out of hand, out of mind, out of body and just be plain crazy. Timothy John Coldridge was a boy who grew up in the small town of Splendora but left it with a heavy heart and never to be seen again until he returned accompanied by Miss Jessie Gatewood, the new mobile librarian.
The conversations going on between these two individuals showed just how close they were, how they loved each other and maybe even more. It is soon apparent to the reader that they are one and the same but no one in town knows this. They actually think the two are more than what they appear to be. Not in a cross dressing way, mind you. But something else.
Maybe?
They need to discuss this and settle on what that maybe, may be.
There were times I felt uncomfortable reading as I was dreading how the town's people would look to Timothy and Jessie. There were so many misunderstandings going on and many of these were ridiculously written to the point that many who do not understand may laugh it up and just say, yes! There were also things written here that 'confirmed' the so called 'insanity' of cross-dressing especially when Timothy and Jessie conversed with each other as if they were two different and separate individuals.
But then love came out of nowhere. The conflicting beliefs and feelings turned, twisted and tangled with each other. There was no obvious way out and soon it was a choice of whether to be Timothy or to remain Jessie. Forever. It was a hard decision to make but it had to be made.
Thing is, how to make that decision and not clue in the gossiping population?
Edward Swift brilliantly wrote about how the world saw cross dressers and how small town mentalities can escalate situations to ridiculous lengths, widths and heights and yet deny what is right in front of them for the sake of denial. This was so right on target that it is impossible to say he was off his rockers and so I could not just ignore this.
Swift was able to depict remarkably well how narrow minded so many people were and still are. I was really in awe with how he depicted Jessie feeling the hurt when looked upon as a woman and simultaneously, we have Timothy looking to himself as the deceiver.
Splendora is a town that no longer is and yet this story using it as the setting is as real today as it was then. This may have been written at a time when no one could really make a definitive diagnosis on what cross dressing was really all about but the story that unfolds is timeless. This was a difficult read, then again it was not, so I could not find it in me to put this down.
As for the town's people? Well, they do say small minds are stagnant, right?
Brilliantly done!
There are so many stigmas attached to cross dressing and/or transvestism. Those in the not-know-how may even go so far as saying that it is a form of insanity. Edward Swift's take on this taboo subject made me realize that not all really could know what is going on. He did go to some lengths that were funny and kind of ridiculous, but then it made me think that those who read this may just assume the worst.
This is a novel about a small town's small-mindedness and how gossip can get out of hand, out of mind, out of body and just be plain crazy. Timothy John Coldridge was a boy who grew up in the small town of Splendora but left it with a heavy heart and never to be seen again until he returned accompanied by Miss Jessie Gatewood, the new mobile librarian.
The conversations going on between these two individuals showed just how close they were, how they loved each other and maybe even more. It is soon apparent to the reader that they are one and the same but no one in town knows this. They actually think the two are more than what they appear to be. Not in a cross dressing way, mind you. But something else.
Maybe?
They need to discuss this and settle on what that maybe, may be.
There were times I felt uncomfortable reading as I was dreading how the town's people would look to Timothy and Jessie. There were so many misunderstandings going on and many of these were ridiculously written to the point that many who do not understand may laugh it up and just say, yes! There were also things written here that 'confirmed' the so called 'insanity' of cross-dressing especially when Timothy and Jessie conversed with each other as if they were two different and separate individuals.
But then love came out of nowhere. The conflicting beliefs and feelings turned, twisted and tangled with each other. There was no obvious way out and soon it was a choice of whether to be Timothy or to remain Jessie. Forever. It was a hard decision to make but it had to be made.
Thing is, how to make that decision and not clue in the gossiping population?
Edward Swift brilliantly wrote about how the world saw cross dressers and how small town mentalities can escalate situations to ridiculous lengths, widths and heights and yet deny what is right in front of them for the sake of denial. This was so right on target that it is impossible to say he was off his rockers and so I could not just ignore this.
Swift was able to depict remarkably well how narrow minded so many people were and still are. I was really in awe with how he depicted Jessie feeling the hurt when looked upon as a woman and simultaneously, we have Timothy looking to himself as the deceiver.
Splendora is a town that no longer is and yet this story using it as the setting is as real today as it was then. This may have been written at a time when no one could really make a definitive diagnosis on what cross dressing was really all about but the story that unfolds is timeless. This was a difficult read, then again it was not, so I could not find it in me to put this down.
As for the town's people? Well, they do say small minds are stagnant, right?
Brilliantly done!
April 11, 2015
I finally finished ‘Splendora’ by Edward Swift. Finally because I got distracted and thus took forever to read this one even though it was a really interesting read. I am a little bit concerned about spoiling parts of the storyline so maybe I should just use the official summary from Netgalley once again.
"The new librarian in the tiny town of Splendora, Texas, has a big secret
A stunning and stylish femme fatale named Miss Jessie Gatewood has arrived in the dusty hamlet of Splendora. Miss Jessie is the new town librarian—but she has much bigger plans than just shelving books. She intends to give the town and its people a much-needed makeover. But even as she is influencing the fashion sense of the local ladies—and winning the heart of the lovesick Brother Leggett, Splendora’s Baptist minister—a surprising plan for vengeance occupies the fabulous Miss Gatewood’s mind."
So, Miss Jessie moves to Splendora to become the town’s librarian but it’s not as easy as that. She is also the son of a Splendora native, returning to the home of her childhood. I’m sorry if this news spoils anything for you, but just looking at the cover for this book probably gives that much away anyway.
In the beginning the townspeople of the small Texas community have no idea that she is living a double life and it is fascinating to see how the town reacts to the ‘strange’ woman. The resident women start to idolise her which is funny considering she was mostly made fun of when she lived there years before with her Grandmother who has since passed.
Edward Swift manages to capture the small town life quite well. I had a difficult time pinpointing in which time period this novel was set until I saw the book was first released in 1978. This speaks volumes in my opinion. On the one hand it shows its timeless character but on the other hand it’s sad that things haven’t much changed over the last 30+ years.
I do have to say, the story dragged throughout the first half in my opinion. It took FOREVER for Miss Jessie’s first day in Splendora to be described as we were treated with flashbacks to her time in New Orleans and childhood in Splendora. All those moments are important for the story but it just took a looooong time. Once the pace picked up though, this was soon forgotten and the connections of the female gossipers of Splendora were portrayed very well. I’m pretty sure, lots of places in rural America (or rural Germany for that matter) still look and feel exactly like this portrayal from the 1970s.
I really liked the ending which I am not going to say anything about just yet because that would really spoil stuff but it was good in my opinion. I liked the gender-fluidity of the protagonist and the understanding nature of some of the townspeople. This marks the first book I actually read about a gender fluid person and the way the difficulties in Miss Jessie’s daily life, her struggles seemed real and well described.
"The new librarian in the tiny town of Splendora, Texas, has a big secret
A stunning and stylish femme fatale named Miss Jessie Gatewood has arrived in the dusty hamlet of Splendora. Miss Jessie is the new town librarian—but she has much bigger plans than just shelving books. She intends to give the town and its people a much-needed makeover. But even as she is influencing the fashion sense of the local ladies—and winning the heart of the lovesick Brother Leggett, Splendora’s Baptist minister—a surprising plan for vengeance occupies the fabulous Miss Gatewood’s mind."
So, Miss Jessie moves to Splendora to become the town’s librarian but it’s not as easy as that. She is also the son of a Splendora native, returning to the home of her childhood. I’m sorry if this news spoils anything for you, but just looking at the cover for this book probably gives that much away anyway.
In the beginning the townspeople of the small Texas community have no idea that she is living a double life and it is fascinating to see how the town reacts to the ‘strange’ woman. The resident women start to idolise her which is funny considering she was mostly made fun of when she lived there years before with her Grandmother who has since passed.
Edward Swift manages to capture the small town life quite well. I had a difficult time pinpointing in which time period this novel was set until I saw the book was first released in 1978. This speaks volumes in my opinion. On the one hand it shows its timeless character but on the other hand it’s sad that things haven’t much changed over the last 30+ years.
I do have to say, the story dragged throughout the first half in my opinion. It took FOREVER for Miss Jessie’s first day in Splendora to be described as we were treated with flashbacks to her time in New Orleans and childhood in Splendora. All those moments are important for the story but it just took a looooong time. Once the pace picked up though, this was soon forgotten and the connections of the female gossipers of Splendora were portrayed very well. I’m pretty sure, lots of places in rural America (or rural Germany for that matter) still look and feel exactly like this portrayal from the 1970s.
I really liked the ending which I am not going to say anything about just yet because that would really spoil stuff but it was good in my opinion. I liked the gender-fluidity of the protagonist and the understanding nature of some of the townspeople. This marks the first book I actually read about a gender fluid person and the way the difficulties in Miss Jessie’s daily life, her struggles seemed real and well described.
October 25, 2022
I first came upon this book when I was around 16 in a second hand shop. So I bought it, read it, and at the time my young mind didn't quite catch the adult humour.
This was my introduction to trans persons and the intolerance they can face. But it was also a beautifully told story, that was comforting to read over again.
And I still read this at least once a year when I need a bit of calm. It puts me in that small town, in the summer heat in a big old house that smells of lavender. The piano is being played by a statuesque blond known as Miss Jessica Gatewood, who has all the locals enthralled by her glamour and talent.
It taught me a lot on that first read, and is one of the books that shaped me, so few books can do that.
This was my introduction to trans persons and the intolerance they can face. But it was also a beautifully told story, that was comforting to read over again.
And I still read this at least once a year when I need a bit of calm. It puts me in that small town, in the summer heat in a big old house that smells of lavender. The piano is being played by a statuesque blond known as Miss Jessica Gatewood, who has all the locals enthralled by her glamour and talent.
It taught me a lot on that first read, and is one of the books that shaped me, so few books can do that.
December 31, 2011
Fun. Story is set in a small east Texas Town of Splendora,TX, but, it nothing like the real Splendora TX. It is the story of the boy who grows up and goes away because he is gay and that is not accepted. He comes home many years later after his grandmother passes and he receives an inheritance. He comes home as the cross dressing town librarian and this is his story...Fun and side splitting at times.
January 2, 2016
This is a quirky little novel that says a lot about small town East Texas as the citizens of Splendora react to the new librarian in town who is quite elegant if a bit old fashioned in her dress. The writing feels a bit like an old fashioned comedy of manners novel, but the topics are quite relevant. Although there are some funny scenes, overall it made me sad.
April 3, 2014
Edward Swift has written a unique colorful story. Splendora is a funny small town unique story. I couldn't put the book down.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews