Considered one of the most subtle and beautifully written lesbian novels of the century, this 1949 classic returns to print in a Cleis Press edition.
Dorothy Strachey’s classicOlivia captures the awakening passions of an English adolescent sent away for a year to a small finishing school outside Paris. The innocent but watchful Olivia develops an infatuation for her headmistress, Mlle. Julie, and through this screen of love observes the tense romance between Mlle. Julie and the other head of the school, Mlle. Cara, in its final months.
Although not strictly autobiographical, Olivia draws on the author’s experiences at finishing schools run by the charismatic Mlle. Marie Souvestre, whose influence lived on through former students like Natalie Barney and Eleanor Roosevelt. Olivia was dedicated to the memory of Strachey’s friend Virginia Woolf and published to acclaim in 1949. Colette wrote the screenplay for the 1951 film adaptation of the novel. In 1999, Olivia was included on the Publishing Triangle’s widely publicized list of the 100 Best Gay and Lesbian Novels of the 20th Century.
Olivia is one of the quiet classics of lesbian literature. Its author was Dorothy Strachey Bussy, sister of Lytton Strachey and a friend of Virginia Woolf, and it tells of an English girl's passionate love for the headmistress of her French finishing school. Bussy wrote it many years before it appeared; André Gide's lukewarm response to the manuscript led her to put it away. The Hogarth Press, founded by Leonard and Virginia Woolf, finally published it anonymously in 1949, credited only to "Olivia," with a jacket by Duncan Grant and a dedication to the beloved memory of V.W. It went into several printings in its first year.
A French translation by Roger Martin du Gard, with a preface by Rosamond Lehmann, appeared the same year, and in 1951 Jacqueline Audry directed a film adaptation starring Edwige Feuillère and Simone Simon that is now regarded as a classic of lesbian cinema in its own right.
In 1999 the Publishing Triangle included Olivia on its list of the 100 best lesbian and gay novels. It has been reissued by Virago Modern Classics, by Cleis Press in 2006, and by Penguin Classics in 2020 with an introduction by André Aciman, who credits the novel as an influence on his own work.
Publication History
Copyright Date
1949
Publication Date
1949
Publisher
Berkley Books
Format
Mass Market Paperback
No. of Pages
127
Language
English
Notes
Berkley Books G-74
Grier, p. 117 (A***)
Rating
Great
Copyright Date
1949
Publication Date
1949
Publisher
Sloane
Format
Hardcover
Language
English
Rating
Great
ISBN
9780405073823
Copyright Date
1949
Publication Date
August 1949
Publisher
Hogarth Press
Format
Hardcover
No. of Pages
109
Language
English
Rating
Great
ISBN
9780405073823
Copyright Date
1949
Publication Date
1950
Publisher
Hogarth Press
Format
Hardcover
No. of Pages
107
Language
English
Rating
Great
Copyright Date
1949
Publication Date
September 1958
Publisher
Berkley Books
Format
Mass Market Paperback
No. of Pages
127
Language
English
Notes
Berkley G-175
What is the right copyright date and company see copyright files
Comment
Olivia is one of the quiet classics of lesbian literature. Its author was Dorothy Strachey Bussy, sister of Lytton Strachey and a friend of Virginia Woolf, and it tells of an English girl's passionate love for the headmistress of her French finishing school. Bussy wrote it many years before it appeared; André Gide's lukewarm response to the manuscript led her to put it away. The Hogarth Press, founded by Leonard and Virginia Woolf, finally published it anonymously in 1949, credited only to "Olivia," with a jacket by Duncan Grant and a dedication to the beloved memory of V.W. It went into several printings in its first year.
A French translation by Roger Martin du Gard, with a preface by Rosamond Lehmann, appeared the same year, and in 1951 Jacqueline Audry directed a film adaptation starring Edwige Feuillère and Simone Simon that is now regarded as a classic of lesbian cinema in its own right.
In 1999 the Publishing Triangle included Olivia on its list of the 100 best lesbian and gay novels. It has been reissued by Virago Modern Classics, by Cleis Press in 2006, and by Penguin Classics in 2020 with an introduction by André Aciman, who credits the novel as an influence on his own work.