Twilight Tales by Melissa Sky

Lesbian pulp fiction's tremendous historical and cultural impact has only recently begun to be fully recognized and until now there has been no comprehensive examination of its most successful author: Ann Bannon. This book provides an in-depth investigation of Bannon's beloved 'Beebo Brinker Chronicles'. In midcentury America, these bestsellers were critical to the gay community's developing sense of itself. In fact, these 'twilight tales' from the 50s prefigure the dawn of increased freedom that broke in the 60s with the Stonewall Riots. Moreover, they provided an unparalleled opportunity for lesbian authors to explore their sexuality, albeit in highly censored ways, for the lesbian character largely had to go crazy, get married or kill herself in the end. This book analyzes the innovative ways Bannon subverted such formulaic conventions. Twilight Tales analyzes lesbian pulp books, films and cover art. Moreover, it applies several new theories to the texts and contributes many provocative points to ongoing scholarly debates about the import of the novels. As such, it is a must read for those interested in American and queer history, as well as cultural and women's studies.