The Well of Loneliness

by Radclyffe Hall, Jana Funke, Hannah Roche

Overview

'If our love is a sin, then heaven must be full of such tender and selfless sinning as ours.'

The Well of Loneliness is among the most famous banned books in history. A pioneering work of literature, Radclyffe Hall's novel charts the development of a 'female sexual invert', Stephen Gordon, who from childhood feels an innate sense of masculinity and desire for women. After relocating from Malvern to London and then to Paris, Stephen encounters fellow queer characters from all walks of life, from the sapphic salon hostess Valérie Seymour to the 'miserable army' of outcasts that frequents the 'merciless, drug-dealing, death-dealing' bars of Montmartre. Although Stephen and her acquaintances, allies, and antagonists are of their time, Hall's novel has offered support and solidarity to generations of LGBTQ+ readers, and it continues to shape debates about gender and sexuality today.

This edition highlights previously overlooked points of influence, inspiration, and connections with other texts as well as situating the novel in historical contexts. In addition, the editors provide vital insights into Hall's engagement with religion, sexology, literary history, and popular culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780192894458
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	01/09/2025
Series:	Oxford World's Classics Series
Pages:	576
Sales rank:	724,911
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 1.25(h) x 9.00(d)

About the Author

Radclyffe Hall

Jana Funke is Associate Professor of English Literature and Sexuality Studies at the University of Exeter. Among other volumes, she has edited The World and Other Unpublished Works by Radclyffe Hall (2016) and, with Elizabeth English and Sarah Parker, Interrogating Lesbian Modernism: Histories, Forms, Genres (2023). She is the author of Sexological Modernism: Queer Feminism and Sexual Science (2024).

Hannah Roche is Senior Lecturer in Twentieth-Century Literature and Culture at the University of York. She is the author of The Outside Thing: Modernist Lesbian Romance (2019), which was named a Choice Outstanding Academic Title. Hannah has published articles on queer modernism in Textual Practice, Essays in Criticism, Modernist Cultures, and Modernism/modernity.

Table of Contents

Biographical PrefaceIntroductionNote on the TextSelect BibliographyA Chronology of Radclyffe HallTHE WELL OF LONELINESSExplanatory NotesAppendix

Editorial Reviews

The bible of lesbianism—The Times

The outpouring of support Hall received from members of the public around the world, who wrote to thank her for creating, in her heroine Stephen Gordon, a character with whom they could identify—Alison Flood, Guardian

Radclyffe Hall's The Well of Loneliness still holds a place as a beacon for sexual self-discovery—Hephzibah Anderson, BBC Culture

A pioneering lesbian novel—Daily Telegraph

Beautifully written and constructed, with delightful prose. It is the standard-bearer; the lesbian The Grapes of Wrath—Lee Lynch

The archetypal lesbian novel —Times Literary Supplement

One of the first and most influential contributions of gay and lesbian literature—New Statesman

Passionately felt and courageous—Spectator

From the Publisher