Creating lesbian history through fiction: Reading from novel in progress and discussion of challenges in writing lesbian historical fiction

Hilary McCollum

Research output: Contribution to conferenceOther contribution to conference

Abstract

According to Terry Castle, lesbian lives have been “ghosted – or made to seem invisible” throughout history. The considerable gaps in the historical record in relation to women’s lives in general and female same-sex desire in particular have proved a significant barrier in attempting to represent the previously unknown history of lesbian lives. Historical fiction provides an alternative means of narrating a lesbian past. Drawing on my own work researching 1920s lesbian lives, I will discuss the boundaries and tensions between historical fact and historical fiction and the challenges, freedoms and ethics inherent in narrating across gaps and silences. I will also read from my novel in progress, As a Lover, a fictionalised account of the publication and subsequent banning of Radclyffe Hall’s The Well of Loneliness.
Original languageEnglish
Publication statusPublished - 27 Jul 2018
Event90 years since The Well of Loneliness: A Radclyffe Hall Symposium - Birkbeck, University of London, London, United Kingdom
Duration: 27 Jul 2018 → …
https://radclyffehallsymposium.wordpress.com

Conference

Conference90 years since The Well of Loneliness
Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
CityLondon
Period27/07/2018 → …
Internet address

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