A World Without Men by Valerie Taylor

A World Without Men

Valerie Taylor

Twelve years after Journey to Fulfillment, we find Erika working as a music teacher in a small town, where she befriends Kate, a fellow tenant at her boarding house. Kate is alcoholic and struggling with the side effects of repressed memories from her childhood (severe physical abuse, incest); she finally comes to terms with her past after a disastrous date (not rape) and a severe accident. Kate visits her shrink for the last time and walks into the sunset with Erika.

‘Good morning, darling.’

Kate opened her eyes slowly. A new happiness flooded her. Sunshine was coming in the window and the radiator purred like a kitten, suffusing the room with warmth. She turned to Erika who was watching her intently. Kate shook her head, not able to speak, not able to express her emotions.

‘Are you happy?’ Erika asked softly, caressing her hair.

‘Too happy.’

Erika smiled and kissed her forehead tenderly. ‘We never did go out for dinner last night. Let’s dress and have a big breakfast.’

‘Not yet, please,’ Kate murmured.

Erika looked at her questioningly and then smiled. ‘Aren’t you hungry?’

‘Yes . . . but not for food,’ Kate whispered, snuggling closer to the warm nakedness that had become so known and so dear during the night. ‘Oh, Erika,’ she moaned, feeling the wonderful hands moving, feeling the slow beginning of desire. ‘Don’t stop. Please don’t stop.’

‘I won’t, darling,’ Erika breathed, her lips administering tiny kisses, her fingertips exploring and adoring.

Kate was lost, separated from everything she had ever known or been before, lost in a need that refused to be denied. She gave way to it with a choked sob. “Let me,’ she groaned, shaken by the strength of her passion. ‘It should be for both. Please.’

‘Oh, yes, darling,’ Erika whispered heatedly. ‘Yes. . .’

How would it be with another woman? There was no guide to it in the magazines, the movies or the girls’ talk at school — nothing but pulp novels filled with vague hints and half-revealed details. Could there really be fulfillment for her in loving a woman? Was it possible? Erika wasn’t sure, but after meeting Kate she hoped with all her heart it could be true.

A World Without Men is an engrossing novel that tells the love story of Kate and Erika. When they meet, Kate is living in a residential hotel and trying to get her life back together. Haunted by hidden terrors that give her nightmares, and wracked with guilt for something she can’t quite remember, Kate welcomes the tenderness and affection offered by Erika. Erika, too, is hauntedÂ… haunted by flashbacks of her experiences during World War II. Can love heel these two women and bring peace and joy to their lives?

In a novel of need, passion and love, author Valerie Taylor gives us another deeply moving, deeply introspective and intimate novel of lesbian love. A World Without Men tells the story of two young women committed each other and a love they refuse to deny.


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Details

Genre Pulp
Copyright Date 1963
Publication Date 1963
Publisher Midwood
Format Mass Market Paperback
No. of Pages 158
Notes Midwood F346
Language English
Rating Good
Paper Type Electronic Format Available
Subject Lesbians; Lesbians – Fiction
BookID 14979

Author: LFWBooks