About the Author

Joanne Glasgow is Professor of English and Women's Studies at Bergen Community College in Paramus, New Jersey, and coeditor of Lesbian Texts and Contexts: Radical Revisions, also available from NYU Press.

Reviews

Many assumptions have been made about the degree to which Radclyffe Hall's lesbian classic, The Well of Loneliness, may be autobiographical. Your John dismisses all such notions. This exhaustive collection of letters written between 1934 and 1942 to Evguenia Souline, a White Russian émigré with whom Hall fell deeply in love are detailed, intimate records of Hall's personal life and convictions (only one of Souline's letters survives). As Glasgow notes in her excellent introduction, the love affair between Hall and Souline started during Hall's relationship with Una, Lady Troubridge, which lasted from 1915 until Hall's death in 1943. Hall had a deep commitment and sense of obligation toward Lady Troubridge and never imagined living without her. But as the letters show, the degree of emotional stress in the daily lives of all three women as they tried to accommodate the situation was great. Hall comes across as at once infinitely romantic and oddly practical. She praised Souline constantly, questioned her loyalty and fussed endlessly over her well-being. However, these letters chronicle much more than Hall's obsessive love for Souline. Hall's views on homosexuality turn out to be far more advanced than any reading of The Well might suggest. Her knowledge of current events, her devotion to her writing and her emotional and fiscal generosity toward Souline combine to paint a portrait of a devoted, passionate writer with an unquenchable thirst for love. There is nothing romantic about this collection, however, as Hall's relationship with Souline seems to have been impossible from the beginning. If Hall's neurotic tone is sometimes grating, the collection is still a heart-wrenching record of how politics, money, and geography converged to undermine these women's dreams. (Feb.)

Glasgow (coeditor of Lesbian Texts and Contexts, New York University, 1990) has collected the revealing letters written by Radclyffe Hall‘best known for her groundbreaking novel of lesbian love, The Well of Loneliness (1928)‘to Evguenia Souline. Dating from their first meeting (1934) to the last year of Hall's life (1942), the letters chronicle the two women's affair, doomed because Hall refused to leave Una Troubridge, her lover of 19 years. The letters expose Hall's obsessive need to control (she gave Souline an allowance but dictated how the money would be spent), her conservative political views, her anti-Semitism, and her belief that homosexuality is an inborn rather than a learned trait. Castle's (The Apparitional Lesbian, LJ 11/1/93) volume explores the literary friendship of Hall and Noel Coward. Castle argues that Hall and Coward influenced each other's writings to the extent that "ghosts" of each appeared in the other's novels: Noel Coward as Jonathan Brockert in The Well, and Hall, Troubridge, and Souline as the heterosexual triangle in Blythe Spirit. While Castle's argument is convincing, the most interesting contribution of her book is her exploration of the relationships between gay men and lesbians in the first half of 20th-century Europe. Both books, especially Your John for its primary material, are recommended for all academic and large public libraries and all libraries with gay/lesbian collections.‘Melodie Frances, Univ. of San Francisco Lib.

"Passionate and revealing love letters from the iconic lesbian novelist ... Radclyffe Hall is getting a fresh look... Glasgow has chosen these letters well and provides helpful context." --Kirkus Review "Many assumptions have been made about the degree to which Radclyffe Hall's lesbian classic, The Well of Loneliness, may be autobiographical. Your John dismisses such notions. This exhaustive collection of letters written between 1934 and 1942 to Evguenia Souline, a White Russian emigre with whom Hall fell deeply in love are detailed, intimate records of Hall's personal life and convictions... the collection is a heart-wrenching record of how politics, money, and geography converged to undermine these women's dreams." --Publisher's Weekly