Radclyffe Hall

Radclyffe Hall (August 12, 1880 - October 7, 1943) (born Marguerite Radclyffe-Hall, in life she went by the name John) was a British lesbian, and author of The Well of Loneliness.

Related Topics:
August 12 - 1880 - October 7 - 1943 - British - Lesbian - The Well of Loneliness

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In 1928, The Well of Loneliness was the subject of an obscenity trial which resulted in all copies of the novel ordered destroyed. It was subsequently reprinted, and is currently in print in the United States, published by Anchor Press. Not only a classic of lesbian literature, The Well of Loneliness is also an example of sentimental literature. Hall described herself as a congenital invert a term she acquired from the writings of Havelock Ellis and other turn of the century sexologists.

Related Topics:
Obscenity - Trial - United States - Lesbian literature - Invert - Havelock Ellis - Sexologists

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The British composer and bon-vivant Gerald Berners, also the 17th Lord Berners, wrote a roman à clef The Girls of Radclyffe Hall, in which he depicts himself and his circle of friends, including Cecil Beaton and Oliver Messel, as lesbian schoolgirls at a school named Radclyffe Hall. The indiscretions made in this novel (which was published and distributed privately) created an uproar among Berners' intimates and acquaintances, making the whole affair highly discussed in the 1930s. The novel subsequently disappeared from circulation, making it an extremely rare book among collectors of gay literature. Rumour has it that Beaton bought all the already scarce copies of the book and destroyed them.

Related Topics:
Gerald Berners - Roman à clef - The Girls of Radclyffe Hall - Cecil Beaton - Oliver Messe - Gay literature

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Judith Halberstam, in her book Female Masculinity writes about Radclyffe Hall and The Well of Loneliness.

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Radclyffe Hall is interred at Highgate Cemetery, London, UK. The vault with her remains is in the Circle of Lebanon, half way round from the Egyptian Avenue entrance.

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