The Prosperine Papers

by Jan Clausen, Diana Souza (Illustrator)

Confronts unsettling questions about the nature of loyalty and betrayal in relationships between women, the significance of words in the face of death and silence, and the possibility of 'progress' from one generation of female rebels to the next.

Genres: Fiction, Queer, Lesbian, LGBT, Historical

260 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[Sarah Cavar · Rating 4 out of 5]

More like 3.5 due to highly inconsistent pacing, but the emotional intimacy and pin's-head-accurate depiction of ivory tower lesbian cultural mores (both those left in the 80s and those carried into the 2020s!) made Dale feel like family. I want more novels of lesbian archive fever!!

[Rainbowgardener · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely little story about a lesbian women's studies professor, who gets involved in tracking down her grandmother's past, which grandmother won't talk about. Grandmother turns out to have been involved for awhile with an Emma Goldman style radical, who was busy organizing miners, leading strikes. The nature of their relationship is gradually revealed as the professor finds more documents.

Lot of heart. Lots of truth about the lesbian community now and what it would have been like to be a lesbian and a socialist before the first world war. Nicely portrayed relationship between Dale and her grandmother. Exploration of issues around revealing/sharing vs privacy/silence.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a re-read for me, after I managed to find a used copy. Very good academic novel.

[Ulla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this story. I might have benefited of some editing, but I find it intriguing as it is. There's a lot of history, lots of feeling . . . yes!