Lesbian literature

Lesbian literature includes some works by lesbian authors, and some lesbian-themed works by heterosexual authors. Works by lesbian writers which do not deal with lesbian themes may still be considered lesbian literature. Works by heterosexual writers which treat lesbian themes only in passing (The Bostonians by Henry James, or works such as The Group), on the other hand, are not usually considered lesbian literature.

Lesbian Fiction

Classic fiction and drama

• La garçonne (The Bachelor Girl) - Victor Margueritte - (1922)
• The Well of Loneliness - Radclyffe Hall - (1928) - its subject matter led to an obscenity trial which banished the book from Britain until the 1960s, though "there are no descriptions of sex in it, no rude words, and the lesbian lovers do not live happily ever after."¹
• The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas - Gertrude Stein - one of Stein's more accessible works. Others, whose lesbian content may not be apparent to the uninformed reader, include ', Lifting Belly, and Miss Furr and Miss Skeene.
• ' - Virginia Woolf
• Nightwood - Djuna Barnes - (1936)
• Ladies' Almanack - Djuna Barnes
• The Children's Hour - Lillian Hellman - (1934)
• The Killing of Sister George - Frank Marcus - (1963)
• "Stone Butch Blues" - Leslie Feinberg

Modern (post-Stonewall)

• Rubyfruit Jungle - Rita Mae Brown
• The Color Purple - Alice Walker
• Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit - Jeanette Winterson

Mystery novels

• Alison Kaine, a lesbian Denver, Colorado police officer in mysteries by Kate Allen
• Allison O'Neill, a lesbian in mysteries by Lauren Wright Douglas
• Amanda Valentine, a lesbian detective inspector in Wellington, New Zealand by Rose Beecham
• Brenda Strange, a private investigator of the weird in Tampa, Florida by Patty Henderson
• Caitlin Reece, a lesbian in mysteries by Lauren Wright Douglas
• Carmen Ramirez, a 24-year-old Irish-Puerto Rican lesbian copy editor at her hometown newspaper in Frontier City, Oklahoma by Lisa Haddock
• Carol Ashton, a lesbian detective inspector in Sydney, Australia in mysteries by Claire McNab
• Cassandra Reilly, a widely travelled lesbian translator in mysteries by Barbara Wilson
• Cassidy James, a lesbian private investigator based in Portland, Oregon in mysteries by Kate Calloway
• Colleen Fitzgerald, a lesbian insurance investigator in mysteries by Barbara Johnson
• Desiree "Dez" Reilly, a lesbian policewoman in St. Paul, Minnesota in mysteries by Lori L. Lake
• Gianna Maglione, lesbian police lieutenant in Washington, D.C. in mysteries by Penny Mickelbury
• Hilary Tamar, an androgynous lawyer in mysteries by Sarah Caudwell
• Inspector Sarah Nelson in mysteries by Susan Wolfe
• Jane Lawless, a lesbian restaurant owner and private investigator in Minneapolis in mysteries by Ellen Hart
• Jet Butler, a lesbian college professor in mysteries by B. Reese Johnson
• Jo Jacuzzo, a charismatic lesbian in Buffalo, New York in mysteries by Anne Seale
• Kate Delafield, a lesbian LAPD homicide detective and former Marine in mysteries by Katherine V.Forrest
• Kate Martinelli, a lesbian San Francisco homicide detective in mysteries by Laurie R. King
• Kellen Stewart, a therapist and a lesbian in Great Britain by Manda Scott
• Kylie Kendall, the lesbian manager of a pub in tiny Wollegudgerie, Australia who inherits 51% of her father's private detective agency in Los Angeles, California in mysteries by Claire McNab
• Lauren Laurano, a lesbian private investigator in Manhattan, in mysteries by Sandra Scoppettone
• Lexy Hyatt, a lesbian crime reporter in Florida in mysteries by Carlene Miller
• Linday Gordon, a lesbian journalist & socialist in Glasgow, Scotland in mysteries by Val McDermid
• Maggie Garrett, a young, lesbian private investigator in San Francisco, California in mysteries by Jean Taylor
• Maris Middleton, a lesbian chemist with a specialization in forensics in mysteries by Kaye Davis
• Meg Lacey, a lesbian private investigator based in Canada in mysteries by Elizabeth Bowers
• Micky Knight, a lesbian New Orleans private investigator in mysteries by J.M. Redmann
• Monette O'Reilley, towering lesbian and star player of the Leaping Lesbians of Park Slope soccer team and graphic artist in New York in mysteries by David Stukas
• Nickel (Nicole) Smith, a lesbian small-town newspaper editor in Runnymeade by Rita Mae Brown
• Pam Nilsen, lesbian printing company owner in Seattle, Washington by Barbara Wilson
• Saz Martin, a lesbian private investigator in London, England by Stella Duffy
• Stoner McTavish, a lesbian travel agent in Boston, Massachusetts by Sarah Dreher
• Sydney Sloan, a lesbian private investigator in New York, New York, in the Stonewall Inn mysteries by Randye Lordon
• Tru North, a lesbian police detective in Kansas City, Missouri in mysteries by Janet McClellan
• Virginia Kelly, a lesbian investment advisor in mysteries by Nikki Baker
• the Unexpected series by Gina Dartt

Romance novels

• contemporary lesbian romances are typified by 's novels.

Lesbian Science Fiction

• Joanna Russ The Female Man
• Marion Zimmer Bradley's Renunciate series
• Jane Fletcher's Celano series
• Nicola Griffith's Ammonite, Slow River

Lesbian Fan Fiction

• Star Trek Voyager Fandom
• Xena Warrior Princess Fandom