The Dusty Bookcase

13 July 2018

Cheering Mrs Moodie's Misfortune

Related posts:

Susanna Moodie's Bloomers

Homophobes and Book Burners Weigh In

The Return of the Amazon Customer Review

Much Ado About Anne

09 July 2018

Red Set: The History of Gang of Four is Launched!

I'm honoured to have been invited to interview author Jim Dooley at the Canadian launch of Red Set: A History of Gang of Four, published by Repeater Books.

Jim's an old friend.

The band is an old favourite.

Because I'm old, I was around to take some of the photos in the book.

It'll all go down in the nation's capital:

Black Squirrel Books and Espresso Bar

1073 Bank Street

Ottawa

Thursday, July 12, 2018

9:00pm

Ottawa friends and readers, please come by.

No weak men in the books at home!

My Career as a Teenage Rock Photographer

05 July 2018

The Great Canadian Lesbian Pulp Novel?

Sadly, no; but I think my expectation was justified. See if you don't agree. Here's the beginning of my review, which was posted yesterday on the Canadian Notes & Queries website:

Strange Desires [?]

Alan Malston [?]

Toronto: News Stand Library. 1949

160 pages

The title of this novel is either Strange Desires or Strange Desire. It doesn't matter which because "Strange" is key. Anyone familiar with post-war paperbacks will recognize the word as code for "lesbian" fiction. Delicate lingerie, gentle caresses, and tender kisses will feature. An insecure, vulnerable, and somewhat unstable young woman (more often than not a blonde) will likely be seduced by a confident, slightly older woman (usually brunette). The young woman will become increasingly insecure, vulnerable, and unstable as a result, until finding safe harbour in the arms of a man. The slightly older brunette may or may not commit suicide.

Those unfamiliar with that code word in 1949 would’ve been aided by the cover pitch: “WHAT MAN COULD SATISFY HER — STRANGE DESIRES.” But for the truly dim-witted, everything is laid out in the back cover copy:

Adele was sophisticated, spoiled and reckless, and her inspired strip dance performed with a snake as partner set men's blood pounding and women's tongues to wagging. Her inseparable female companion seemingly did not quench Adele's desire for the conquest of men and for the one man in particular who seemed capable of resisting every trick and every charm.

Am I right or am I right?

Before wasting good money on tracking down a copy, you'll want to read the rest of the review: