List of books portraying sexual relations between women

This is a list of books portraying sexual relations between women, works of fiction with characters who may be lesbians, bisexuals or straight-identifying women who have sex with women. It includes a list of characters that make recurring appearances in fiction series.

Classic fiction and drama

• The Bachelor Girl – Victor Margueritte – (1922)
• God of Vengeance (play) - Sholem Asch (1923) - Girl has lesbian relationship with a prostitute
• The Captive (play)– Edouard Bourdet - (1926) - Tragedy of a young woman, who falls into a twisted relationship with another woman
• The Well of Loneliness – Radclyffe Hall – (1928) – subject of an obscenity trial that banished the book in the United Kingdom until 1949, though "there are no descriptions of sex in it, no rude words, and the lesbian lovers do not live happily ever after."
• Ladies Almanack – Djuna Barnes – (1928)
• Orlando: A Biography – Virginia Woolf – (1928)
• The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas – Gertrude Stein – (1933) – one of Stein's more accessible works. Others, whose lesbian content may not be apparent to the uninformed reader, include As a Wife Has a Cow: A Love Story, Lifting Belly, and Miss Furr and Miss Skeene.
• The Children's Hour (play)– Lillian Hellman – (1934)
• Nightwood – Djuna Barnes – (1936)
• Torchlight to Valhalla – Gale Wilhelm – (1938)
• No Exit - Jean Paul Sartre - (1944) - Inès Serrano Lesbian sent to hell for murder
• Spring Fire – Marijane Meaker (as Vin Packer) (1952)
• Le Rempart des Béguines – Françoise Mallet-Joris (1952) – Helene, a 15 year old schoolgirl, is seduced by her father's mistress, Tamara.
• The Price of Salt – Patricia Highsmith (as Clare Morgan) – (1952)
• Chocolates for Breakfast – Pamela Moore (1956)– portrays the bond between the protagonist Courtney Farrell and her boarding school teacher Miss Rosen, and the backlash against them from other teachers and students.
• Odd Girl Out, I Am a Woman, Women in the Shadows, Journey to a Woman, and Beebo Brinker a.k.a. the "Beebo Brinker Chronicles" – Ann Bannon (1957–1962)
• The Group – Mary McCarthy (1962)
• The Killing of Sister George – Frank Marcus – (1963)
• Desert of the Heart – Jane Rule – (1964) (basis for the 1985 film Desert Hearts)
• Patience and Sarah – Isabel Miller (1969)
• A Compass Error – Sybille Bedford (1968)

Modern fiction (post-Stonewall)

• Broken Ladder", (2010), J. Monique Gambles
• Rubyfruit Jungle, (1973), Rita Mae Brown
• Lover (1976), Bertha Harris
• The Color Purple (1982), Alice Walker
• Toothpick House (1983), Lee Lynch
• Mousson de femmes (Monsoon of women) (1985), Elula Perrin
• The Swashbuckler (1985), Lee Lynch
• Lesbian Body (1986), Monique Wittig
• Say Jesus and Come to Me (1986), Ann Allen Shockley
• Memory Board (1987), Jane Rule
• Six of One (1991), Rita Mae Brown
• Aquamarine (1993), Carol Anshaw
• Bastard Out of Carolina (1993), Dorothy Allison^{[citation needed]}
• Stone Butch Blues (1993), Leslie Feinberg
• Chelsea Girls (1994), Eileen Myles
• Empire of Dreams (1994), Giannina Braschi
• Written on the Body (1994), Jeanette Winterson
• Flashpoint (1995), Katherine V. Forrest
• Fall on Your Knees (1996), Ann-Marie MacDonald
• Sweet Bitter Love (1997), Rita Schiano
• Loving Her (1997), Ann Allen Shockley
• Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (1997), Jeanette Winterson
• The Passion (1997), Jeanette Winterson
• Working Parts (1997), Lucy Jane Bledsoe
• Hood (1998), Emma Donoghue
• Like (1998), Ali Smith
• Yo-Yo Boing! (1998), Giannina Braschi
• Kissing the Witch (1999), Emma Donoghue
• Sita (2000), Kate Millet
• Stirfry (2000), Emma Donoghue
• Tipping the Velvet (2000), Sarah Waters
• Gun Shy (2001), Lori L. Lake
• Fingersmith (2002), Sarah Waters
• Affinity (2002), Sarah Waters
• Hotel World (2002), Ali Smith
• Love Ruins Everything (2002), Karen X. Tulchinsky
• The Wanderground (2002), Sally Miller Gearhart
• Garis Tepi Seorang Lesbian (2003), Herlinatiens
• Love and Other Ruins (2003), Karen X. Tulchinsky
• Maybe Next Time (2003), Karin Kallmaker
• Crybaby Butch (2004), Judith Frank
• Love's Masquerade (2004), Radclyffe
• Under the Witness Tree (2004), Marianne K. Martin
• Bliss (2005), Fiona Zedde
• The Five Books of Moses Lapinsky (2005), Karen X. Tulchinsky
• Life Mask (2005), Emma Donoghue
• Back Talk (2006), Saxon Bennett
• French Postcards (2006), Jane Merchant
• Fresh Tracks (2006), Georgia Beers
• Idaho Code (2006), Joan Opyr
• Of Drag Kings and the Wheel of Fate (2006), Susan "Smitty" Smith
• Punk Like Me (2006), JD Glass
• The Night Watch (2006), Sarah Waters
• A Taste of Sin (2006), Fiona Zedde
• Every Dark Desire (2007), Fiona Zedde
• Flight Risk (2007), Kim Baldwin
• A Girl Named Charlie Lester (2007), Carissa Halston
• Such A Pretty Face (2007), Gabrielle Goldsby
• The Teahouse Fire (2007), Ellis Avery
• Among Other Things, I’ve Taken Up Smoking (2008), Aoibheann Sweeney
• Beyond the Pale (2008), Elana Dykewomon
• Hungry for It (2008), Fiona Zedde
• Landing (2008), Emma Donoghue
• Relief (2008), L.E. Butler
• Your Sad Eyes and Unforgettable Mouth (2008), Edeet Ravel
• Beautiful Strangers (2009), Ellen Dean
• Cat Rising (2009), Cynn Chadwick
• Girl Meets Boy (2009), Ali Smith
• Lesbians Roaring Like A Tsunami (2010), by Mikhail Volokhov
• The Girl Back Home (2010), R.E. Bradshaw
• Sweet Carolina Girls (2010), R.E. Bradshaw
• To Lie as One's Self (2010), Brendon Mustaciola
• 96 Hours (2011), Georgia Beers
• The Slayer (2011), Nadine LaPierre

Mystery novels

• When the River Flows out of its Bed, mystery romance by Gaëlle Cathy
• Armchair Detective, AKA Investigations Series, Book 1, lesbian sleuth-romance-erotica-adventure-mystery by Kelli Jae Baeli
• Also Known as DNA, AKA Investigations Series, Book 2, lesbian sleuth-romance-erotica-adventure-mystery by Kelli Jae Baeli
• As You Were, romantic suspense & mystery by Kelli Jae Baeli
• Alison Kaine, a lesbian Denver, Colorado police officer in mysteries by Kate Allan
• Allison O'Neill, a lesbian in mysteries by Lauren Wright Douglas
• Amanda Valentine, a lesbian detective inspector in Wellington, New Zealand by Rose Beecham
• Wilhelmina "Bil" Hardy, an amateur lesbian detective in Idaho Code and From Hell to Breakfast by Joan Opyr
• Brenda Strange, a private investigator of the weird in Tampa, Florida by Patty Henderson
• Brett Higgins, a gangster/private investigator in Detroit, Michigan by Therese Szymanski
• 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
• Danielle Renaud, a lesbian French-Canadian RCMP officer in mysteries by Nadine LaPierre
• Desiree "Dez" Reilly, a lesbian policewoman in St. Paul, Minnesota in mysteries by Lori L. Lake
• Emma Victor, a lesbian private investigator in San Francisco in mysteries by Mary Wings
• Gianna Maglione, lesbian police lieutenant in Washington, D.C. in mysteries by Penny Mickelbury
• Hilary Tamar(?), an androgynous lawyer in mysteries by Sarah Caudwell. In fact, Caudwell never specified Tamar's sex.
• Hyacinth Dickinson a lesbian gynaecologist and diamond smuggler in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England by Ellen Dean
• 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
• Jude Devine, a lesbian sheriff's detective in Montezuma County, Colorado in mysteries by Rose Beecham
• 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
• Kristin Ashe, a lesbian private investigator in mysteries by Jennifer L. Jordan
• 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
• Lindsay 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
• Rainey Blue Bell, an FBI agent on medical leave and a bail bonds business owner, meets her first lesbian lover in Rainey Days, the first novel in the Rainey Bell mystery series by R.E. Bradshaw
• 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
• Nea Fox, a lesbian private investigator in London, England in mysteries by Amelia Ellis
• 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 by Stella Duffy
• Shay O'Hanlon, a lesbian coffee store owner in the humorous caper/mysteries by Jessie Chandler
• 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
• Toni Barston, a lesbian district attorney specializing in borderline personalities in mysteries by Terri Breneman
• 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

Romance novels

Contemporary Lesbian Romances are typified by the novels from Karin Kallmaker, Georgia Beers, Ellen Dean, Radclyffe, and Marianne K. Martin.

• When the River Flows out of its Bed, mystery romance by Gaëlle Cathy
• As You Were, - Kelli Jae Baeli
• Curious Wine, Emergence of Green – Katherine V. Forrest
• All True Lovers, Cytherea's Breath, Amantha – Sarah Aldridge
• Legacy of Love, Love in the Balance, Dawn of the Dance, Never Ending, Mirrors, Under the Witness Tree, Dance in the Key of Love – Marianne K. Martin
• Mulligan, House on Sandstone, Just this Once, Secrets So Deep, Out of Love – KG MacGregor
• Beautiful Strangers - Ellen Dean
• Honor Series, Justice Series, Provincetown series – Radclyffe
• All the Wrong Places, Car Pool, Embrace in Motion, Finders Keepers, In Every Port, Just LIke That, The Kiss that Counted, One Degree of Separation, Painted Moon, Sugar, Unforgettable, Making Up For Lost Time, Substitute for Love, Touchwood, Wild Things, Watermark (sequel to Touchwood) – Karin Kallmaker
• Course of Action, Coffee Sonata, Sheridan's Fate, September canvass – Gun Brooke
• Define Destiny JM Dragon
• First Instinct, Forever Found, Rising Storm, Hotel Liaison – v
• More Than Paradise, the Moon Island Series: Passion Bay, Saving Grace, The Sacred Shore, A Guarded Heart, and the Dark Vista series: Dark Dreamer, Dark Valentine – Jennifer Fulton
• I Found My Heart In San Francisco Series, Arbor Vitae – SX Meagher
• Sweet Bitter Love – Rita Schiano
• Sierra City, Gulf Breeze, Hunter's Way, Behind the Pine Curtain, Coyote Sky, Dawn of Change, The Rainbow Cedar, One Summer Night – Gerri Hill
• The Light Fantastic – L A Tucker
• Never Say Never, Class Reunion – Linda Hill
• None So Blind, Prairie Fire, Tumbleweed Fever – LJ Maas
• Galveston 1900: Swept Away, The Bluest Eyes in Texas, and Borderline – Linda Crist
• The Price of Fame, The Cost of Commitment, The Value of Valor – Lynn Ames
• Infinite Loop – Meghan O'Brien
• Innocent Hearts, Love's Melody Lost, Love's Tender Warriors, Tomorrow's Promise, Passion's Bright Fury, Love's Masquerade – Radclyffe
• Hunter's Pursuit, Force of Nature, Whitewater Rendezvous, Focus of Desire – Kim Baldwin
• A Gift of Time, Gloria's Inn – Robin Alexander
• Private Dancer – TJ Vertigo
• Turning the Page, Thy Neighbor's Wife, Too Close to Touch, Fresh Tracks, Mine, Starting from Scratch --- Georgia Beers
• Turning Point – Lara Zielinsky
• Such A Pretty Face – Gabrielle Goldsby
• Trails Merge, Learning Curve – Rachel Spangler
• On the Air - Geonn Cannon
• Gemini - Geonn Cannon
• Out on the Sound, The Girl Back Home, Sweet Carolina Girls - R.E. Bradshaw
• Zen and Tonic (novel), Kris Howard (author), jms-books.com (2011)</ref>
• Like Lovers Do, Different Dress, Ricochet in Time - Lori L. Lake

Historical Novels

• Vulture's Kiss, Sistine Heresy, Mephisto Aria – Justine Saracen
• Miss McGhee – Bett Norris
• The Seahawk – Brenda Adcock
• Snow Moon Rising – Lori L. Lake
• What's Best for Jane – Bett Norris
• When Women Were Warriors – Catherine M. Wilson

Science fiction, fantasy, and horror

These science fiction works frequently address the issue of feminist/lesbian separatist communities. See Lesbian science fiction for a more detailed review.

• Joanna Russ's The Female Man
• Marion Zimmer Bradley's Renunciate series
• Jane Fletcher's Celano series
• Katherine V. Forrest's Daughters of a Coral Dawn, Daughters of an Amber Noon, Daughters of an Emerald Dusk, Dreams and Swords anthology with novella O Captain, My Captain
• Jewelle Gomez's The Gilda Stories, Don't Explain
• Nicola Griffith's Ammonite, Slow River
• Patrick Califia's Doc and Fluff
• Therese Szymanski's Call of the Dark anthology
• Karin Kallmaker, Barbara Johnson, Julia Watts and Therese Szymanski's New Exploits books, including Once Upon a Dyke, Bell, Book & Dyke, Stake Through the Heart, and Tall in the Saddle
• Diana River's Hadra series
• Laurie J. Marks's Dancing Jack, Elemental series (Fire Logic, Earth Logic, Water Logic)
• Meghan O'Brien's The Three
• Pam Keesey's Daughters of Darkness and Dark Angels
• Gun Brooke's Supreme Constellations series
• Moondancer Drake's Ancestral Magic
• Justine Saracen's The 100th Generation and Vulture's Kiss
• Libba Bray's characters Felicity Worthington and Pippa Cross in her Gemma Doyle trilogy (A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels, and The Sweet Far Thing) are at first thought to be very close friends, almost sisters, until it is revealed they are harbouring a secret love for one another.
• Catherine M. Wilson's "When Women were Warriors series" book 1: The Warriors Path, 2: A Journey of the Heart, and 3: A Hero's Tale
• Malinda Lo "Ash" and "Huntress"
• "Women on the Edge of Space," a space-opera anthology published by Circlet Press

Gay male author Geoff Ryman's Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning The Child Garden features a lesbian protagonist.

• Sarah Diemer "The Dark Wife"
• Raven c.s. McCracken's It's Always Spring Break Somewhere in the Galaxy

Young adult fiction

• When the River Flows out of its Bed, YA mystery romance by Gaëlle Cathy
• Ruby (1976), Rosa Guy
• Happy Endings Are All Alike (1978), Sandra Scoppettone
• The Last of Eden (1980), Stephanie Tolan
• Crush (1981), Jane Futcher
• Annie on My Mind (1982), Nancy Garden
• Good Moon Rising (1996), Nancy Garden
• The House You Pass on the Way (1997), Jacqueline Woodson
• The Year of Freaking Out (1997), Sarah Walker
• Truth Dare or Promise (1997), Paula Broock
• Allison (1998), Tatiana Strelkoff
• Girl Walking Backwards (1998), Bett Williams
• Summer Sisters (1998), Judy Blume
• Tomorrow Wendy (1998), Shelley Stoehr
• Dare Truth or Promise (1999), Paula Boock
• Out of the Shadows (2000), Sue Hines
• A Year of Full Moons (2000), Madelyn Arnold
• Empress of the World (2001), Sara Ryan
• Finding H.F. (2001), Julia Watts
• Gravel Queen (2003), Tea Benduhn
• I've Known Since I Was Eight (2003), Sophie Glasser
• Keeping You a Secret (2003), Julie Anne Peters
• Kissing Kate (2003), Lauren Myracle
• The Bermudez Triangle (2004), Maureen Johnson
• Good Girls Don't (2004), Claire Hennessy
• Heart (2004), Lexi Harris
• Orphea Proud (2004), Sharon Dennis Wyeth
• Rosemary and Juliet (2004), Judy MacLean
• Sugar Rush (2004), Julie Burchill
• Far from Xanadu (2005), Julie Anne Peters
• The Will of the Empress (2005), Tamora Pierce
• grl2grl (2007), Julie Anne Peters
• The Rules for Hearts (2007), Sara Ryan
• Split Screen (2007), Brent Hartinger
• Down to the Bone (2008), Mayra Lazara Dole
• M+O 4Ever (2008), Tonya Cherie Hegamin
• My Tiki Girl (2008), Jennifer McMahon
• Pretty Little Liars (2008–present), Sara Shepard
• The Girl from Mars (Marsmädchen) (2008), Tamara Bach
• The Questions Within (2008), Teresa Shaeffer
• Rage: A Love Story (2009), Julie Anne Peters
• Ash (2009), Malinda Lo
• I Kiss Girls (2007), Gina Harris
• Torn (2009), Amber Lehman
• The Dark Wife (2011), Sarah Diemer

Fan fiction

For more details on this topic, see Femslash.

Fanfiction writers have produced many works in which female characters from fictional sources (such as television shows, movies, video games, anime, manga or comic books) are paired in romantic, spiritual, or sexual relationships. The genre is known by a variety of terms, including femslash, saffic, yuri and f/f slash. Lesbian content in fanfiction dates at least to 1977, but has become more popular during the 1990s and 2000s.

Lesbian & Feminist Publishing Houses

• Alyson Books
• Aunt Lute Books
• Bella Books
• Blue Feather Books
• Bold Strokes Books
• Bywater Books
• Colbere Publishing
• Crossing Press
• Firebrand Books
• Intaglio Publications
• Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press
• Onlywomen Press
• P.D. Publishing, Inc.
• Press Gang Publishers
• Regal Crest Enterprises
• Spinsters Ink
• Virago Press

Further reading

• The Lesbian in Literature by Gene Damon (Barbara Grier). Bibliography of any title with lesbian content through 1969.
• Chloe plus Olivia – An Anthology of Lesbian Literature from the Seventeenth Century to the Present, ed. Lillian Faderman, Penguin Books 1995

See also

• Femslash
• Lesbian fiction
• Lesbian pulp fiction
• Lesbian teen fiction
• LGBT literature
• List of genres
• List of nonfiction books about homosexuality
• List of poetry portraying sexual relations between women
• Yuri (genre)

References

• Potter, Clare. The Lesbian Periodical Index, Naiad Press, 1986 ISBN 978-0930044749
• Gay detectives listed by Stop, You're Killing Me!, a resource for mysteries
• Gay & Lesbian detectives listed by Martin Kich
• Lesbian (Feminist) Los Angeles, 1970–1990: An Exploratory Ethnohistory, Yolanda Retter University of New Mexico
• McCormick Library of Special Collections, Northwestern University Library.
• "Las Tortilleras: Tortilleras: Hispanic and U.S. Latina Lesbian Expression", edited by Inmaculada Perpetusa-Seva and Lourdes Torres, Temple University Press, 2003.
• "These Girls Are Not Sweet", edited by Marjorie Agosin, White Pine Press, 2000.

External links

• Feminist SFF & Utopia: Dyke Protagonists
• Science Fiction for Lesbians
• GLBT Fantasy Reviews
• Books To Watch Out For publishes a monthly newsletter about lesbian books
• GLBTQ – Novel: Lesbian
• GLBTQ – American Literature: Lesbian, Post-Stonewall
• QueerTheory – Contemporary Lesbian Writers of the USA
• Isle of Lesbos Poetry
• Lesbian Mysteries features Lesbian Mystery Novels