Jane Chambers' Burning: A smouldering novel of lust and love that transcends centuries!

by Jane Chambers

THIRD PRINTING! Now from Jane Chambers' NEW PUBLISHER T 'n' T CLASSICS INC. This smoldering love story of two contemporary women possessed by unfulfilled lovers from three centuries ago is a gripping novel in its own right and an insightful commentary on the prejudice and persecution of gay people throughout history. Written with all the gentleness of LAST SUMMER AT BLUEFISH COVE*, the country touches of MY BLUE HEAVEN*, and the warm humanity of A LATE SNOW*, (*all published by T 'n' T CLASSICS INC. under the JH gay plays imprint) this book is a must for all fans of the late Ms. Chambers...or a great introduction to her work for those unfamiliar with this remarkably versatile feminist writer. While best known for her plays, she was also a sensitive poet and novelist. Book includes photos of Ms. Chambers and names of winners of the Jane Chambers Playwriting awards. Appeals to lovers of Gothic horror stories as well as lovers of romantic feminist fiction. It was dedicated to her life's companion with the words: "Beth, who loves ghosties & goblins & long-leggity beasties & things that go bump in the night."

Genres: Horror, Lesbian, Fiction, Witches, Romance, Horror Thriller, Historical Fiction

157 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1978

Reviews

[Jeffrey Canino]

Jane Chambers, a pioneering lesbian playwright and poet, also wrote this subtle, wrenching novel of supernatural horror. Though marketed in its original Jove paperback edition through comparisons to SALEM'S LOT and THE OMEN and a striking but ultimately misleading illustrated cover from Rowena Morrill, the novel unfurls its horrors slowly, making the case that human social tendencies towards bigotry and gender-based power dynamics create more lasting terror and bloodshed than any ghost or ghoul ever could. Chambers, via her time-hopping narrative, demonstrates that the brutal, violent discriminations of 300 years prior continue to infect the present. The "witches" are always identified by normative perspectives, and only by luck do those accused escape the flames.

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

An atmospheric and surprisingly progressive lesbian horror novel. Understated and melancholy, more than the garish (but awesome) cover art would imply. Intelligently written, it explores interesting themes about gender, as well as some lyrical scenes of eroticism. In terms of queer female literature, these themes are now well-trodden, but here they're surprising in their age and eloquence. Enjoyed it quite a bit.

[Richard K. Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wished I'd had read this YEARS ago! Great tale of witches who come back for revenge!

First off, let me tell you that this book has the SMALLEST print EVER! With this book only being 157 pages, if the print would have been bigger it would have been probably a 300+ page tale of lesbian witches who have posessed two women in the late 1970's to get revenge for them being burned at the stake! And Jane Chambers wrote it greatly being a women of the LGBT community herself.

4 women....all different and each with their own tale to tell.
Martha.....witch, burned at the stake over 200 yrs. ago.
Abigail.....witch, also tortured for who she was.
Cynthia.....spoiled wealthy married mother of 2.
Angela.....hired nanny for the kids, and confused of who she really is.

The way that these women's lives cross is actually kind of confusing in the way that the story goes from modern time to a time over 200 years ago...and Chambers writes it as they are living both eras at the same time if that makes any sense.
With that being said, I was really impressed with the fact that this book was NOT a huge success when it was published in 1978. The book has some of the most disturbing scenes of witches being tortured and burned alive that it was actually very graphic in this portrayal. Go into this open minded. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys books about witches, witchcraft and torture.
4.5 Flames

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Halloween read (found via a roundup on Lambda Lit: https://www.lambdaliterary.org/featur...)

I was into the story and writing at first but the eighteenth century plotline left me cold; while the historical characters' intrusion into the storyline is done well, producing a spooky uncanniness, they themselves, and their interiorities, were not compelling despite their being lesbian witches. I skimmed a lot. This would make a terrific play (Chambers was best known as a playwright). Weird that my (1983) cover depicts a straight couple; the original 1978 cover is much more luridly lesbian. ETA: I have been corrected on this last point! The 1983 cover in fact does not depict a straight couple and I apologize for my poor vision and misgendering!

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lesbian drama marketed as a supernatural horror novel. There really isn’t any horror in this book at all. The only horrific thing is the depiction of “witches” being burned at the stake — which, sorry Jane, didn’t actually happen in Salem. The characters becoming possessed by their counterparts from the 1700s was intriguing and kept me reading, but it didn’t really go anywhere. The writing was generally fine but characterization was a little wonky. Perhaps I’m being unfair since the book was mismarketed, but this could have been so much better than it turned out to be.

[Sarah Goodner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent B-horror book. This is one of Grady Hendrix's Paperbacks from Hell that sounded interesting. The story was pretty predictable, and there could have been a lot more to it, I thought. I did like that the author took such a risk and wrote about a lesbian love affair in the 1970s. It wasn't very scary, though.