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Odd Girl Out (novel)
Encyclopedia
Odd Girl Out is a lesbian pulp fiction
novel
written in 1957
by Ann Bannon
(pseudonym of Ann Weldy). It is the first in a series of pulp fiction novels that eventually came to be known as The Beebo Brinker Chronicles. It was originally published in 1957 by Gold Medal Books
, again in 1983 by Naiad Press
, and again in 2001 by Cleis Press
. Each edition was adorned with a different cover. Not until 1983 did author Ann Bannon learn that her first novel was the second best-selling paperback of 1957.
Bannon's original story submitted to Gold Medal Books was about events in a sorority, in which a subplot involved an affair two women were having. Her editor handed it back to her and told her to focus on the two women. When she returned to the editor, not a word was changed in her second version, and it became Odd Girl Out. As Bannon explained in the 2001 edition forward, Gold Medal Press publishers had control over the cover art and the title. Bannon's publisher titled the book. Lesbian pulp fiction books usually showed suggestive art with obscure titles that hinted at what the subject matter was inside.
Ann Bannon was inspired to write her books after reading Spring Fire
by Vin Packer and The Well of Loneliness
by Radclyffe Hall
. In fact, it was Marijane Meaker (Vin Packer's real name) that Bannon wrote to and who introduced her to her publisher at Gold Medal Books. Bannon was 22 years old when she began writing Odd Girl Out.
at a fictional university in a midwestern town. Intensely shy and introverted, she is drawn to the president of the Student Union, Beth Cullison. Beth is outgoing and friendly, experienced socially (with men, particularly) but feels a void in her life. She doesn't understand how the other girls are so fulfilled by the men in their lives, despite having tried. Every time she allows herself to be intimate with one, she breaks it off out of disappointment.
Beth shares a room in the sorority house with Emmy, and convinces Laura to pledge the sorority. Feeling a pull to Beth, Laura delights in her presence and experiences jealousy and confusion in her attachment to the older woman. They go on dates together to movies and plays, and Beth considers Laura something of an enigma, unsure of how to reach out to her to get to know her well. Laura finds herself especially jealous of Beth's most recent beau, Charlie, who to Beth's surprise, has awoken some new feelings in her. Laura is often so at odds with her unemotional upbringing conflicting with the intensity of the emotions she experiences for Beth that she practices self-injury.
Beth begins to realize what effect she has on Laura and teases her good-naturedly to watch what happens to her, but Beth is taken back by Laura's intense attraction and love for her, and they begin an affair. This is compounded by her escalating relationship with Charlie, who is frustrated with Beth's vacillating between affection for him and her guilt for hurting Laura.
Beth loses her faith with her sorority and the university when during a sorority costume party, Emmy gets drunk and her boyfriend, Bud, hoists her scantily clad over his shoulder and the top of her costume falls off. The sorority kicks her out after she is caught in the middle of coitus with Bud, after she was told not to see him. Bud is angered by this, and feels partly to blame. He reassures Emmy and promises to marry her. Whether or not he will fulfill his promise remains ambiguous. Emmy writes to Beth about her frustration when she doesn't hear from Bud, and her feelings of estrangement from her community. Disillusioned and not sure what to do, Beth agrees to leave school to be with Laura and they plan to run away to Greenwich Village. Charlie corners Laura and she tells him about their relationship, triumphant that she can have what Charlie cannot. Charlie corners Beth when she is on her way to meet Laura at the train station and confronts her about her relationship with Charlie. He calls her relationship with Laura childish and Beth admits she is not in love with him, she only loves Laura. Charlie drops her off at the station and says she must make her own decision, but he will wait nearby for half an hour, just in case. Beth finally reveals the truth to Laura when she meets her at the station. Laura stays on the train resolute her love for Beth and even thanks her for teaching her who she is. Beth says her goodbyes to Laura and rushes off to catch Charlie.
recommended Odd Girl Out in 1957, noting that "the context is not so sensational as most pocket books on this theme. The problems of heterosexual love as well as homosexual love are equally well presented — with understanding and sympathy."
In a 1969 retrospective of lesbian paperback fiction, Odd Girl Out was described as having "all the requirements: youth, sex, love, sex, hope, sex, and no real lack of sympathy.
Author Katherine V. Forrest
described purchasing and reading Odd Girl Out: "Overwhelming need led me to walk a gauntlet of fear up to the cash register. Fear so intense that I remember nothing more, only that I stumbled out of the store in possession of what I knew I must have, a book as necessary to me as air... I found it when I was eighteen years old. It opened the door to my soul and told me who I was." Forrest also credits Bannon, quite frankly, with saving her life.
Lesbian pulp fiction
Lesbian pulp fiction refers to any mid-20th century paperback novel with overtly lesbian themes and content. Lesbian pulp fiction was published in the 1950s and 60s by many of the same paperback publishing houses that other genres of fiction including Westerns, Romances, and Detective Fiction...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
written in 1957
1957 in literature
The year 1957 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Lawrence Durrell publishes the first volume of The Alexandria Quartet. The final of the four volumes will be published in 1960....
by Ann Bannon
Ann Bannon
Ann Bannon is an American author who, from 1957 to 1962, wrote six lesbian pulp fiction novels known as The Beebo Brinker Chronicles. The books' enduring popularity and impact on lesbian identity has earned her the title "Queen of Lesbian Pulp Fiction"...
(pseudonym of Ann Weldy). It is the first in a series of pulp fiction novels that eventually came to be known as The Beebo Brinker Chronicles. It was originally published in 1957 by Gold Medal Books
Gold Medal Books
Gold Medal Books, launched by Fawcett Publications in 1950, is a U.S. book publisher known for introducing paperback originals, a publishing innovation at the time. Fawcett was also an independent newsstand distributor, and in 1949 the company negotiated a contract with New American Library to...
, again in 1983 by Naiad Press
Naiad press
Naiad Press was one of the first publishing companies dedicated to lesbian literature. At its closing it was the oldest and largest lesbian/feminist publisher in the world.-History:...
, and again in 2001 by Cleis Press
Cleis Press
Cleis Press is an independent publisher of books in the areas of sexuality, erotica, feminism, gay and lesbian studies, gender studies, fiction, and human rights. The press was founded in 1980 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, later moved to San Francisco, and is now based out of Berkeley, CA...
. Each edition was adorned with a different cover. Not until 1983 did author Ann Bannon learn that her first novel was the second best-selling paperback of 1957.
Bannon's original story submitted to Gold Medal Books was about events in a sorority, in which a subplot involved an affair two women were having. Her editor handed it back to her and told her to focus on the two women. When she returned to the editor, not a word was changed in her second version, and it became Odd Girl Out. As Bannon explained in the 2001 edition forward, Gold Medal Press publishers had control over the cover art and the title. Bannon's publisher titled the book. Lesbian pulp fiction books usually showed suggestive art with obscure titles that hinted at what the subject matter was inside.
Ann Bannon was inspired to write her books after reading Spring Fire
Spring Fire
Spring Fire, is a 1952 paperback novel written by Marijane Meaker, under the pseudonym "Vin Packer". It is often considered to be the first lesbian pulp novel, although it also addresses issues of conformity in 1950s American society...
by Vin Packer and The Well of Loneliness
The Well of Loneliness
The Well of Loneliness is a 1928 lesbian novel by the British author Radclyffe Hall. It follows the life of Stephen Gordon, an Englishwoman from an upper-class family whose "sexual inversion" is apparent from an early age...
by Radclyffe Hall
Radclyffe Hall
Radclyffe Hall was an English poet and author, best known for the lesbian classic The Well of Loneliness.- Life :...
. In fact, it was Marijane Meaker (Vin Packer's real name) that Bannon wrote to and who introduced her to her publisher at Gold Medal Books. Bannon was 22 years old when she began writing Odd Girl Out.
Plot summary
Laura Landon is a sheltered freshmanFreshman
A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...
at a fictional university in a midwestern town. Intensely shy and introverted, she is drawn to the president of the Student Union, Beth Cullison. Beth is outgoing and friendly, experienced socially (with men, particularly) but feels a void in her life. She doesn't understand how the other girls are so fulfilled by the men in their lives, despite having tried. Every time she allows herself to be intimate with one, she breaks it off out of disappointment.
Beth shares a room in the sorority house with Emmy, and convinces Laura to pledge the sorority. Feeling a pull to Beth, Laura delights in her presence and experiences jealousy and confusion in her attachment to the older woman. They go on dates together to movies and plays, and Beth considers Laura something of an enigma, unsure of how to reach out to her to get to know her well. Laura finds herself especially jealous of Beth's most recent beau, Charlie, who to Beth's surprise, has awoken some new feelings in her. Laura is often so at odds with her unemotional upbringing conflicting with the intensity of the emotions she experiences for Beth that she practices self-injury.
Beth loses her faith with her sorority and the university when during a sorority costume party, Emmy gets drunk and her boyfriend, Bud, hoists her scantily clad over his shoulder and the top of her costume falls off. The sorority kicks her out after she is caught in the middle of coitus with Bud, after she was told not to see him. Bud is angered by this, and feels partly to blame. He reassures Emmy and promises to marry her. Whether or not he will fulfill his promise remains ambiguous. Emmy writes to Beth about her frustration when she doesn't hear from Bud, and her feelings of estrangement from her community. Disillusioned and not sure what to do, Beth agrees to leave school to be with Laura and they plan to run away to Greenwich Village. Charlie corners Laura and she tells him about their relationship, triumphant that she can have what Charlie cannot. Charlie corners Beth when she is on her way to meet Laura at the train station and confronts her about her relationship with Charlie. He calls her relationship with Laura childish and Beth admits she is not in love with him, she only loves Laura. Charlie drops her off at the station and says she must make her own decision, but he will wait nearby for half an hour, just in case. Beth finally reveals the truth to Laura when she meets her at the station. Laura stays on the train resolute her love for Beth and even thanks her for teaching her who she is. Beth says her goodbyes to Laura and rushes off to catch Charlie.
Reception
Novels published as pulp were never seriously reviewed in literary magazines; however, The LadderThe Ladder (magazine)
The Ladder was the first nationally distributed lesbian publication in the United States. It was published monthly from 1956 to 1970, and once every other month in 1971 and 1972. It was the primary publication and method of communication for the Daughters of Bilitis, the first lesbian organization...
recommended Odd Girl Out in 1957, noting that "the context is not so sensational as most pocket books on this theme. The problems of heterosexual love as well as homosexual love are equally well presented — with understanding and sympathy."
In a 1969 retrospective of lesbian paperback fiction, Odd Girl Out was described as having "all the requirements: youth, sex, love, sex, hope, sex, and no real lack of sympathy.
Author Katherine V. Forrest
Katherine V. Forrest
Katherine V. Forrest is an American writer.Forrest is best known for her eight novels about lesbian police detective Kate Delafield. The character was the very first lesbian police detective in the American lesbian mystery genre and is described as "Miss Marple with k.d...
described purchasing and reading Odd Girl Out: "Overwhelming need led me to walk a gauntlet of fear up to the cash register. Fear so intense that I remember nothing more, only that I stumbled out of the store in possession of what I knew I must have, a book as necessary to me as air... I found it when I was eighteen years old. It opened the door to my soul and told me who I was." Forrest also credits Bannon, quite frankly, with saving her life.