new LesDian novels from naiad Press. . .
TOOTHPICK HOUSE, a novel by Lee
Lynch; Naiad Press (P.O. Box 10543,
Tallahassee, Florida 32302); 256p. quality
paperback; $7.95.
Naiad Press is well-known for publishing
excellent lesbian/feminist books (as the
following reviews attest), but they really seem
to have cornered the market on fine lesbian
romances. Wh ! many of these novels are not
masterpieces, they nevertheless consistently
provide hours of lively reading. Each contains
an interesting olot, even more interesting
characters, and positive outlook on lesbian life
and love.
Toothpick House, one of the most recent
releases from Naiad, is a first novel for author
Lee Lynch. Previously, she has had a modest
but growing reputation, in feminist circles, as
a short story writer. (In fact, a collection of her
short stories, entitled Old Dyke Tales, is
scheduled for publication by Naiad in April
’84 and a second novel, The Swashbuckler,
will follow later next year.)
Toothpick House is set in the I970’s, in the
midst of a new wave of the feminist movement.
Those years witnessed a new development in
feminism: the “lesbian/feminist” or “political
lesbian,” who discovered her woman-loving
urge through her involvement with the
women’s movement. Unlike some of her
predecessors, the lesbian/feminist does not
center her life around bars or butch-femme
relationships, but around feminist institutions
and lifestyles.
In Toothpick House, the bar dyke and
political lesbian meet and fall in love. Annie
Heaphy is a cab-driving “baby butch,” who
lives a life of freedom in a “toothpick house”
on the coast of Connecticut. Long aware of
her lesbianism, Heaphy centers her life around
bars and a series of love affairs. Victoria
Locke, on the other hand, is a Vale student
who does not come to terms with her own
lesbianism until she becomes involved with a
campus feminist group.
Annie’s dislike of “Yalies” and all they
represent extends to the beautiful, self
possessed Victoria Locke at first. They meet
almost by accident, and fall in love at first
sight. Can two opposites live happily ever
after? (Read the book and find out.)
Toothpick House is the story of Annie and
Victoria, but it is also the story of the
burgeoning women’s movement, the changes
it brings to traditional lesbian lives, and the
ways in which it affected all of the young
women of the past decade. The conflicts and
compromises between the bar dykes and the
lesbian feminists make for some of the most
interesting scenes in the book. Toothpick
House is a fascinating fictional look at a
critical period in lesbian “herstory.” And, of
course, it’s a good love story.
MADAME AURORA, a novel by Sarah
Aldridge; The Naiad Press; 248p. quality
paperback; $7.95.
THE NESTING PLAGE, by Sarah Aldridge;
The Naiad press; 2I8p. quality paperback,
$6.95
Sarah Aldridge is the leading writer of
lesbian romance novels. Her first three novels,
The Latecomer, Tot tie and Cytherea's Breath,
were the first three books published by the
Naiad Press when Barbara Grier and Donna
J. McBride founded the lesbian/ feminist
publishing house in 1975.
These first three novels were well-received,
and Aldridge bettered herself in 1978 with the
publication of her fourth novel. Entitled All
True Lovers, it’s an (autobiographical?)
account of two adolescent girls in the early
thirties. This book helped confirm Aldridge as
one of Naiad’s greatest discoveries.
The Nesting Place, published last year,
continues her romantic tradition. It is the love
story of Dr. Sabina Hill, a middle-aged
physician who finds herself romantically and
otherwise involved with Claire Duane, an
heiress conveniently married to her gay cousin
Phillip, and later, to the Duanes’ musical
protege Letty.
In Dr. Hill, Aldridge realistically depicts a
lesbian professional, one who has had to
struggle to win recognition in what some still
consider “a man’s job.” The other characters,
though not as well-developed, are also still
interesting, and the plot is suspenseful enough
to keep the reader’s interest up.
A step down from All True Lovers, The
Nesting Place is not a great book. Perhaps it’s
"Put Lee un the cover," wrote the women of
Naiad Press. "Give the girls a thrill."
So we did.
Referring to the rings visible in the photo,
Lee offers the following remarks: "In the
years since I've been out, I’ve worn many
women's rings. . I still wear a pinkie ring as
a connection to my old gay past, a signal to
other lesbians, a part of our language. M\
lover and / have worn the plain silver bands
that signify our committment to each other for
eleven years now. Last year / added Rady's
ring. One she made, heavy with silver, its
lutbrys like a shining stamp of courage resting
on a background dark with soldering anger. /
'traded-up' to it from a smaller, less potent
ring — as she predicted / would. The ring is so
loud it look me months to wear all the time. /
call it my power ring and wear it on the index
finger of my right hand. A finger / use in
writing, pointing, making love, accusing,
guiding tools, beckoning and admonishing.
The finger / use now to display my ring so it
stands out like a statement."
TOOTHPICK
A NOVEL Bf HOUSE
Lee Lynch
not meant to be. It is, however, a good,
entertaining lesbian love story.
Madame Aurora, Aldridge’s sixth and most
recent novel, is set in Washington, D.C. in
1897. The 19th century had seen great
advances for women; by 1897, women had the
right to own property, and to various
professions. There was even talk of giving
women the vote, as Susan B. Anthony,
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and other feminists
worked to gain suffrage for themselves and
their sisters.
Within this setting, we meet Hannah
Morgan and Elizabeth Beaufort, elderly
feminists and lovers for many years. The two
met while teaching at a small women’s college
in the !860’s. Elizabeth made her living as a
teacher until deafness and an academic
scandal (concerning a book she authored on
love) intervened. Hannah, an ex-Army nurse
and a teacher of domestic skills, learned as a
young child on the farm that she had “powers”
that she could “see” the future in ways
others could not.
As the novel begins, the two women are
both in their seventies and in financial straits.
In order to make ends meet, Elizabeth makes
use of her “psychic powers” and as “Madame
Aurora” becomes the spiritual counselor to
Washington's best and brightest.
T hough Madame Aurora has an interesting
subplot involving a dying steel baron and his
money, it is the romance that captures the
reader's attention. In addition to Hannah and
Elizabeth, Madame Aurora features a young
couple the baron's niece, Daisy Rawles, and
one of the first female librarians in the new
Library of Congress, Neil Purcell.
Aldridge contrasts the older couple and the
younger, whose relationship is aided and
abetted by the new status ol women. I he
characters are interesting and the setting
the first fifty years of the Women's movement,
the silver scandals of the late nineteenth
century, and the political and social turmoil of
the years following the Civil War especially
intriguing. And. of course, once again true
love triumphs in an Aldridge novel.
continued on page 7
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