EDGE OF TWILIGHT

Greenwich, Conn: Crest Book / Fawcett, 1959. Fine.. First printing, paperback original, of this lesbian pulp novel with an unambiguously happy ending, a gorgeous copy. In 1950s, pulp paperbacks became the primary vehicle in the American publishing market for lesbian fiction, ironically using the seedy reputation of the "sleeze" lines as cover for exploring genuine love stories between women. The branding of EDGE OF TWILIGHT conveys that tension, with copy on the front wrapper that suggests an expose - "women who dare to live in that outcast world of 'twilight' love" - and copy on the rear wrapper that suggests the opposite - "a memorable and moving story about a difficult and much abused subject." The euphemism for lesbianism, "twilight," was especially popular during the pulp years for this ambivalence, connoting both an evocative romance and ominous outsider status, just beyond the boundary of the light of day.

Many date the first modern lesbian romance novel to Radclyffe Hall's WELL OF LONELINESS (1928), an important and influential work that nevertheless does not have a happy ending. Patricia Highsmith's 1952 novel under the pseudonym Claire Morgan, THE PRICE OF SALT is often considered as an early lesbian novel to feature a "happy ending," yet a central plot point involves one of the heroines losing custody of her child because of her sexual orientation. Another foundational lesbian series, Ann Bannon's Beebo Brinker Chronicles (1957-62), does feature at least one book with the heroines together at the end (JOURNEY TO A WOMAN, 1960), but published after EDGE OF TWILIGHT. In this wider literary context, the last lines of EDGE OF TWILIGHT feel joyfully rebellious: "Kiss me!' Val commanded. Toni suddenly became coy. 'Say it first.' [...] She whispered, 'Because I love you...I adore you...Oh, God, I want you so much.' THE END." 7'' x 4.25''. Original glossy color photographic wrappers, s267, priced at 35c. All edges stained red. Publisher's ads at rear. 158, [2] pages.