The Well of Loneliness

Summary

I have put my pen at the service of some of the most persecuted and misunderstood people in the world… So far as I know nothing of the kind has ever been attempted before in fiction. —Radclyffe Hall

Originally published in 1928, The Well of Loneliness follows the life of Stephen Gordon, a girl born to parents who wished for a boy in late Victorian England. Through Stephen, Hall explores love, lonelieness, and the struggle for self-acceptance in the face of rejection.

With its frank portrayal of lesbianism and queer identity, The Well of Loneliness was the subject of several obscenity trials and subjected to bans in multiple countries upon its publication. A watershed moment in LGBTQ+ literary history, its cultural impact endures to this day.