However, I do not agree with the claim on the front of the cover describing it as "The Bible of Lesbianism" because in all honesty it is not. Radclyffe Hall may have herself been a lesbian, but in some ways this novel skirts over the issue and almost gives the impression that homosexuality is a negative thing. Obviously at the time that the novel is set in, she has to conform to certain social regulations, but referring to lesbians as "inverts" is not a particularly positive description in my eyes. Also trying to disguise the gender of the protagonist to a certain degree by calling her "Stephen" seems to also be an attempt to distract the reader from the issue of homosexuality that is clearly being conveyed.

However, this is beautifully written, it is a haunting piece of literature, that once read will never be forgotten. Hall may have been ahead of her time when the novel was first released, but she is now remembered as a classic and wonderful novelist whose words echo deeply within the heart of her readers.

This will reduce you to tears, I have never been so emotionally drained after finishing a book, but I truthfully believe that regardless of your view on sexuality, this is a love story, showing that love will force you to do anything to protect the one you truely care about and adore.

Exceptional.


Interesting book but not a great one   August 3, 2004
 4 out of 8 found this review helpful

This is an interesting book, but suffers from the hype surrounding it. The early chapters describing Stephen's childhood and her relationship with her father (and to a lesser extent her mother) are very moving and definitely the best part of this novel. Once we come to Stephen's adult life, I felt it became rather dull and needed a lot more editing.

However, an interesting read.


Not worth the scandal it caused   June 3, 2002
 42 out of 54 found this review helpful

If you're studying lesbian literature, obscenity trials or queer history in general, this book has unfortunately become foundation stuff and might be worth trawling through. If you're a young dyke just starting to read queer writing, it'll just make you feel hopeless and there are far better writers around. Radclyffe Hall may have been a pioneer and a martyr, and she does at least get marks for courage considering the atmosphere of the time, but as a writer she was mediocre (and apparently as a person she was a nasty piece of work).

Admittedly, the book is very much a product of its time. Sexual orientation was little understood, gender dysphoria even less so, and Hall appears to have got muddled up between the two. There is a mild stab at scientific explanation (Stephen's parents long for a boy, give her a boy's name, treat her as a boy to a certain extent - and surprise surprise, she grows up to like girls and dress as a man), and a very clear line drawn between "inverts" and "normals" that will make anyone grit their teeth long before they come to the depressing way in which Stephen "heroically" solves her final dilemma. The depiction of the relatively "normal" women Stephen loves as properly girly creatures, who are swayed by the perils of Sapphic passion but are still Real Women underneath, contains some pretty unpleasant stereotypes about bisexuals and "femme" women, and the characterisation throughout neither arouses sympathy in the reader nor particularly convinces.

Despite the obscenity trial, there is nothing scandalous in this book beyond the idea that a woman could love women: the dirtiest it gets is the all-concealing line, "...And that night they were not divided." (Sorry if that's a spoiler, but as a friend of mine said, "You mean I've read hundreds of pages about her miserable childhood for *that*?")

If you want lesbian sex, there are plenty of writers offering that sort of thing these days, and some of them even write about it well (Emma Donoghue, for instance, who is, incidentally, a vivid, moving and very funny writer). If you're after lesbian literature of that period, go to Virginia Woolf and co. (there are also some excellent anthologies, such as the "Penguin Book of Lesbian Short Stories" and "Chloe Plus Olivia", that take a literary-historical perspective). If you simply want a well-written book about love between women, again there is far better on offer: the previous two writers and also the likes of Jane Rule and Alice Walker. And if you're interested in transsexuality and the boundaries between genders (not to mention the people who fall in the middle), I can recommend Anna Livia's "Bruised Fruit" and Rose Tremain's "Sacred Country". Spare yourself this.


A fantastic piece of literature!   December 12, 2001
 10 out of 13 found this review helpful

'The Well of Lonliness' is an absolutely sensational book. The way in which Hall explores the feelings and emotions of Stephen are stunningly effective. I couldn't put this book down and the empathy which she makes you feel with the characters is incredible. This is the first book which reduced me to tears- I defy anyone not to be moved by it. I advise anyone and everyone to read this book as it truely is a fantastic piece of literature.