The Lion House

A question looms throughout the pages of The Lion House. Can a woman be a lesbian and not be aware of it? As Jo, our lead character, finds out—yes, it possible. Jo practically throws her husband at Frannie, then forgives all their transgressions because she is in love with Frannie. Does Frannie return her love? This is the second big question for our story. Extremely well-written, this tale is the story of two woman’s lives—two women who are linked through their everyday activities and their affection for each other. The subtle relationship between two women with its lesbian undertones is described with a skill worthy of Colette.Marjorie Lee has written a book that is both brilliant and brave. She delves beneath the surface of deeds and emotions to deftly expose the savage that lies in all of us, even those who live in supposed serenity in the suburbs. Every woman will recognize parts of herself in the two leading characters. She will share the emotional turmoil of a woman caught in the agony of wanting love but not knowing how to get it because she does not know how to give it.This is an exciting, original book brimming over with dialogue that is devastating in its pungency and its perception. Sometimes you feel like laughing, sometimes like crying, sometimes like gasping in shock as starkly written sexual scenes surge up from the pages. These are not included for mere sensa­tionalism, but come out of an understanding of human nature. Always you care about those whose lives are being portrayed, and this is the true test of a book.

About Lesbian Pulp Fiction

In the early 1950s new sub-genres of the vintage paperback pulp novel industry emerged—science fiction, juvenile delinquent, sleaze, and lesbian fiction, for instance—that would tantalize readers with gritty, realistic and lurid stories never seen before. Mysteries, thrillers and hardboiled detective pulps were already selling quite well. Publishers had come to realize, however, that sex would sell even more copies. In a competitive frenzy for readers, they tossed away their staid and straightforward cover images for alluring covers that frequently featured a sexy woman in some form of undress, along with a suggestive tag line that promised stories of sex and violence within the covers. Before long, books with these sensational covers had completely taken over the paperback racks and cash registers. To this day, the "good girl art" (GGA) cover art of these vintage paperback books are just as sought after as the books themselves were sixty years ago.

With the birth of the lesbian-themed pulp novel, women who loved women would finally see themselves—their experiences and their lives—represented within the pages of a book. They finally had a literature they could call their own. For lesbians across the country, especially those living in small towns, these books provided a sense of community they never knew existed, a connection to women who experienced the same longings, feelings and fears as they did—the powerful knowledge that they were not alone. We are excited to make these lesbian pulp novels available in ebook format to new generations of readers.