Beebo Brinker

Beebo Brinker #0

by Ann Bannon

A “prequel” to the preceding tales. Although it was written last in the series, this story brings Beebo from the hayfields of Wisconsin to New York’s Greenwich Village. She arrives a very young and uncertain girl, but by the end of the story, we see the emergence of the dashing young butch she will become. Along the way there are beautiful girls to explore and a sparkling dalliance with an international movie star.

Genres: Fiction, Queer, LGBT, Lesbian, Romance, Classics, Pulp

233 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

Ann Bannon (pseudonym of Ann Weldy) is an American author and academic. She is known for her lesbian pulp novels, which comprise The Beebo Brinker Chronicles and earned her the title "Queen of Lesbian Pulp Fiction."

Bannon was featured in the documentaries Before Stonewall (1984) and Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives (1992)

Reviews

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

The last of Bannon's books, unfortunately. Published in 1962. Her prequel to the saga of Beebo and her other characters. She stated in an interview she stopped writing when she felt she was getting really good at it (Forbidden Love video, 1994).

When Barbara Gittings started adding pictures of real lesbians to the cover of The Ladder in 1964 it was a revolutionary act - it showed lesbians as normal folks for anyone to see - heterosexuals who believed they'd never seen any before, and lesbians themselves who were questioning who they were, might they be? What Bannon did was very similar with this book. She laid out the heart and mind of a young woman who knew she was different, but also knew she was special. And Bannon did this for the world to see, and for her readers, she shattered any preconceived notions of what a butch lesbian was. Even for lesbians.

Beebo Brinker is "accessibly human" and a beautiful portrait of an outsider who has courage by necessity. I attest that anyone who criticizes Bannon's books for being too constricting in gender role play hasn't read them deeply enough, or quite frankly - has not had enough life experience to recognize multi-layered human motivation. These books were published as pulp fiction because no other publisher had the nuts to publish them as literature. They are deceptively simple enough to warrant reading more than once to understand exactly how brave these books were.

Understanding Bannon's own life as a parallel to the plots of her books is also a bonus in re-reading them. Check it out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Bannon (I wrote it. I'm a big honkin' fan.)

[Anna Avian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beebo's love spells were a bit overly dramatic and tedious for my taste. There wasn’t much character development either. But considering the time period this book was written in it has it’s own historical worth and meant a lot to women who back then had no representation to speak of.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tbh I liked this a lot! went in thinking it would be corny pulp novel and just dancing around the topic of lesbianism but it rocked. more melodramatic stories about butches being messy and gender-weird and irresistable to all women pls

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this one. Well worth a read.

[Bandit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published chronologically last, Beebo Brinker is technically the prequel to the chronicles, set about 15 years back from the events of Women in Shadows. We get to meet Beebo when is young and inexperienced and watch her find herself in NY and become comfortable with her identity. It's fascinating, because she is such a far cry from the Beebo Brinker at the end of Women in Shadows, and it's really interesting for the reader to get such a well rounded sense of the character's journey. Some great characters in this book too, particularly the love interest. It's strange to think how things have changed since and how some things and views really haven't changed that much despite how much time has passed. There is still an abundance of discrimination taking place. Gay rights situation in this progressive civilized great world of ours certainly still leaves a lot to be desired, but then again Montana just decriminalized gay sex, so (insert sarcasm) hurray for progress and equality and all that. Yey. But I digress...Beebo Brinker is a good and enjoyable read. Recommended.

[Cleo · Rating 3 out of 5]

No idea how to rate this classic lesbian pulp fiction. I mostly enjoyed it, despite the lack of character development and OTT plot, but found the homophobia pretty upsetting, especially at the end.

I didn’t realize until after I read it that it’s a prequel. Which may explain why the character development seemed a little thin.

[Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a lesbian pulp novel from the 60s, one I am reading for a queer writing course. I was surprised by the fact it wasn't terrible prose, however, that happy surprise was mitigated by characterization that's impossible to believe. Character motivations seem false, and there are three (three!) instances of love at first sight that are not earned or believable. Also, honestly, for a book whose main purpose is to titillate, there should really be more sex.

[Anna Call · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this because I wanted a quick, fun, pulpy dyke drama full of sex, heartbreak and romantic reunion. There's a bit of that old-school homo angst mixed in, but it's not much worse than tragical stylings of other romantic stereotypes.
If mainstream romance novelists wrote for lesbians, they might do well enough to write more like this.

[Karelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ça me fait de la peine de l'admettre, mais plus un 2 étoiles et demi ajusté à la hausse. Même si y'a quelque chose de l'fun dans le fait de lire un pulp lesbien, et qu'à ce niveau, y'a certaines choses vraiment très cool dans le livre pour l'époque (comme la revendication, par une personnage, de la bisexualité comme étant valide), ça restait un long 233 pages. Pis pour vrai, un livre sans chapitre (quand c'est pas un exercice de style), c'est salement non.

[Cheyenne Blue · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Beebo Brinker” is described as ‘lesbian pulp fiction’. Written in 1962 by Ann Bannon, it is a prequel to the immensely popular series featuring this character. The series is one huge stepping stone along the path of gay and lesbian acceptance in the community.

It’s hard to know how to approach this review. Do I treat it solely as a reading experience, from my present day perspective? Do I give weight to its social and historical significance? Do I allow my emotions and heart to weigh in and give a subjective “me” review? (Well, I always do that, so I’m not going to change there).

The series has been republished by the ever-awesome Cleis Press. “Beebo Brinker’, although written last, is chronologically the first in the series. Having never read any of these before, I elected to start here.

Let me say I was quite fond of Beebo as a character. It’s hard not to feel sympathy for the awkward girl driven away from her rural home town, coming friendless and nearly penniless to New York. It’s easy to fall under the sway of her “boyish handsome face and muscular figure” and her wit and naivety. It’s harder to feel sympathy for the Beebo who treats her girlfriend (the doormat that is Paula Ash) with the same disrespect and callousness that rouses her ire when she observes her boss treating his wife the same way. But then there is so much stress on the mannish Beebo in these pages, and this was how many men treated their little women in the 1950s. See what I mean about Beebo-as-historical-document? (I will not make a Galaxy Quest reference here, oh no I won’t).

From my present day perspective, clichéd characters abound, there are a lot of early declarations of love (I remember at least three), and there’s a bit of unfinished business in the plot. But it doesn’t matter. Beebo-as-historical document again, in this case lesbian pulp fiction of the 1950s. It is what it is.

I enjoyed reading this. Sure, it dragged a little at times, and I had to make a conscious effort to overlook some things that made my present-day reading eye tsk tsk a little, and a bigger effort to overlook other things that made my present-day feminist-equality eye narrow in disgust, but the book as a whole? As uncritical, pure pleasure with a healthy dollop of sentimentality, with an awareness of what it would mean to lesbians of the era to read something like this? Loved it.

Hey Beebo! Never give up! Never surrender!

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before I chose a topic for my thesis, my seminar professor suggested focusing on lesbian pulp fiction. My reading list would have been vastly different, but I also don't think I would have found a topic. Beebo Brinker was a bit over-the-top, but that's the pulp fiction part.

It's interesting to think that by the standards of its time, the novel was considered obscene — the descriptions don't really go beyond people passionately kissing each other's hands and faces.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used this book for the gay/lesbian literature course this semester. It is a great representative of pulp fiction popular at the time. The students really liked it, but I worried that they took it way too literally. Romance novels are not popular with young people today, and so they don't have the filter developed to truly understand the fantasy aspect of this genre. It was a fun read, and I'm glad I included it in the class.

[unique · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

gay :)🏳️‍🌈

[Catheryne Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

“God, Jack, it makes you want to go out and convert the whole world to homosexuality...just so you can walk down the street with your head up”

Blown away by Beebo Brinker would be an understatement! My first authentic Pulp Fiction novella, an absolute whirlwind of women, drama, devastation and New York City. A whole host of unrealistic, red hot occurrences providing a delicious sequence of events to please any sapphic reader, I adored following Beebo from her arrival in the city all the way through her tumultuous character development in the prequel to Bannon’s full series.

Paula and Jack Mann take the male and female prizes for best character - I felt such an intense love and protection over both of them, the worst character objectively Pete Pasquini with his overbearing nature and predatory tendencies.

It angers me that lesbian pulp fiction is so difficult to obtain after being silenced and prohibited throughout McCarthyist America. I’m just so glad it is still available in print at all, and could only wish for it to be as available as your standard heterosexual Mills and Boon (aka- lining the walls of every book store) I hope small acts of review writing and content sharing will continue to keep the genre alive for years to come.

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

*3.75*
Read this for class and really enjoyed it! For one, it was a lot easier to digest than most of the other things we've been assigned to read. And the story was engaging if a little bit unrealistic in its pacing. I know so many friends who read this and really benefitted from its more optimistic portrayal of coming out and lesbian relationships, especially compared to other books of the time.

[charlotte, · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rep: lesbian mc, lesbian & gay side characters

CWs: period typical homophobia, lesbophobia, sexual assault

[Sarah Swedberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lesbian classic. This surprised me tremendously. I thought something written in this era would be a lot grimmer. I'm glad I finally read the book that was so key to the queer women a generation older than I am.

[Laurereveal · Rating 4 out of 5]

literature class is OVER catch me reading lesbian pulp on the internet archive

[Soph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do I need to explain again my love for Ann Bannon’s lesbian pulp novels?

[Wendy Rouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ann Bannon (Weldy) writes a surprisingly sympathetic tale of a young woman coming to terms with her identity as a lesbian in the early 1960s. Written during the height of the era of lesbian pulp fiction, Bannon's story deviates from the standard narratives of the era that inevitably ended in tragedy for lesbian characters. Beebo Brinker is a relatable and multi-dimensional character with an interesting story to tell. Definitely worth the read.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe I've not found these books earlier. I was so excited when I heard about this book a week ago I had to buy a copy immediately. Lesbian pulp fiction set in the 50s beat New York scene, could a more perfect book have been written for me? I ordered my copy from Amazon and did a bit of research on the author. Apparently she was a sorority girl who got married after college and then realised, a little too late, that perhaps she wanted something else, and started to write pulp stories about lesbians while she was waiting for her kids to grow up so she could leave her husband. She used to go and hang out in Greenwich village but failed to find the butch of her dreams so she made up Beebo and wrote about her instead. The novel was definitely a pulp, some of the characterisation was rather flimsy, and the situations definitely lacked the realism of the official beat novels but I loved it anyway. There was just so much honesty and humour in here. The characters, even while having to deal with the difficulty of 50's america's view of homosexuality they were always very adamant that there was nothing Wrong with what they were doing and it didn't doom you to unhappiness just cause you were gay. There were some really heartbreakingly honest conversations, such as Venus when she said she didn't think she should be judged as less gay simply because she'd gotten married and had children. There were also some brilliantly hilarious moments with Venus such as when she said she looked in the fridge every day when she put the champagne in there to cool. Venus and her son totally reminded me of Eddie and Saphy from Ab-fab. Beebo was great, from turning up in the big city and getting sick from peppermint schnapps, to dressing up as a boy and fainting in her hick town. It definitely raised some interesting questions about gender issues for me. Here in the early 60s Bannon seemed to be asking a lot of questions about gender norms, the whole butch and femme thing. How it's obvious for transgendered lesbians that they're not straight, but how is it for women that don't look any different. I also really liked her soft hearted gay friend who took her in. He did seem a bit of a door mat, but also like someone you'd want to know who knew where all the fun places to go and hang out were. This was actually the last book that Bannon wrote, even though it's the first chronologically. I'm a bit trepidations about the first one she wrote about a sorority girl falling for one of her sisters, but I am curious to read the rest. (And because I'm so obsessive about completeness will probably read them all!) And now I can't help but wonder what OTHER lesbian classics I've been missing out on...

[GoGo López · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really, really liked this, thank you Sam 🧡🤍🩷 Unsurprisingly melodramatic and surprisingly smutty at times, I enjoyed it from beginning to end. The concept of sexuality and gender being intertwined by our queer elders is hard to understand for some (not for me because I am a Wise Dyke), but even overlooking that I think this is a very enjoyable Lesbian novel. To think about Ann Bannon writing it back when makes me tear up. Definitely will be reading the rest of the installments in the series 💕 Seeing that I can't be the lucky lesbian who gets housed and given psychotherapy for free by one kind-hearted homosexual man, reading about Beebo getting that will have to do 🙄

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really wanted to get into Beebo but it's sadly not my style. I think this book has potential appeal for many readers though, and I really don't intend here to discourage anyone from approaching this material. As a piece of queer historical literature this book is arguably essential. As a reader currently in my twenties I think I'm either too young or have completely missed an era where the comedy in Beebo's highly dramatic love spells jumps off the page for me. At times the drama gets tedious, and I think my tendency to take characters at face value really left me struggling with the context that would bring Beebo to life. Regardless it's worth a read, though I must admit I'm in no hurry to explore the rest of the series.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed a lot of this, and I appreciated it as a historical document. I think there are some weak points that hampered my enjoyment, the most significant of which for me is the relationship between Paula and Beebo, which I just couldn't buy. It's not the most egregious example of insta-love I've come across, but I just can't handle that trope in books - films it works a bit more, but only if the actors have very good chemistry. On the other hand, I was really invested in the whole Venus plot, which was definitely my favourite part. Anyway, I'm not sure if I care enough to seek out the rest of the series, but I'm glad I read this one.

[Marissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finally read Beebo Brinker! Yes! I think my favorite part of the book was the relationship between Jack and Beebo. She writes their easy friendship better than she writes some of the lesbian relationships. Thus, it starts out really well when she's a baby dyke and then sort of tends toward harlequin silliness later. It was pretty revolutionary for it's time, however, and it's refreshing to read Bannon's adoring descriptions of Beebo's butch-ness.

[Elise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This "lesbian pulp fiction" was published in 1962. Eighteen year old Beebo arrives in New York after running away from her father's farm in Indiana. She arrives in Greenwich Village and meets Jack Mann, who is immediately drawn to her handsome good looks. She lives with Jack, who is gay, and who slowly draws her "out." She meets Mona, Paula Ash, Venus Bogardus. Moves to Hollywood, gets into trouble, moves back and ends up with Paula. THe sex is quite tame from today's standards.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

ah, pulp fiction. i couldn't put it down, partly because there are no chapter breaks but also because it's pure baby dyke greenwich village 1950s cliched but nevertheless compelling drama.... but i also can't justify more than 3 stars.

[Kit Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second Beebo Brinker book—say that 17 times fast—definitely ups the stakes a bit. We got some hot 'n' tawdry Greenwich Village action, a jealous beatnik-ish vamp, a sultry movie queen, and even a bit of cross-country jet-setting. Long story short, it's a very good time.

[Gaije · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love, love, love, this whole series. The characters, for the most part, feel so real, and grow and develop, or regress, throughout the series.

And, if I recall correctly, there's plenty of superhot supersexytime. Just, you know, if you're into that kind of thing.

[Akiva ꙮ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was not expecting to enjoy this nearly as much as I did; thus I give it 5 stars for blowing my expectations out of the water vs. 3.5-4 stars it deserves as a book in general.

I want to read more lesbian pulp novels; I hope this isn't going to set my expectations too high.