The Prosperine Papers by Jan Clausen

As an academic in the field of womens studies, Dale finds herself the focus of Grandma Rose's ambition to put her life's writing in order. Dales errand of mercy takes an unexpected turn when the fusty old papers yield a surprise, a cache of intimate correspondence between her prim grandmother and a freethinking contemporary, a dashing young woman by the name of Posperpine.

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From Publishers Weekly
Dale McNab, a lesbian-feminist academic who is mired in romantic and professional crises, finds escape by visiting her 90-year-old grandmother, Rose, on the pretext of helping organize her diaries and papers. A determined Minnesotan who survived the Depression and hard farming times, Rose achieved the traditional aspirations of husband, family and home. As Dale delves through the journals and reminiscences of Rose's past, she stumbles upon photos and correspondence with the late Prosperine Munkers, Rose's closest childhood friend. Prosperine's eloquent papers reveal a singular woman who was a lesbian, pk radical and writer. Dale's goal shifts from publishing her grandmother's diaries to writing a book on Prosperine, but she struggles with Rose's puritan ethics over access to the papers. The author of Sinking, Stealing weaves a marvelously poignant, witty tale of Dale's clash with an older generation firmly entrenched in Protestant middle-class values.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.