A Long-Forgotten Pre-Stonewall Novel

One of my Facebook friends, Michael Schiavi, the biographer of the late gay film historian Vito Russo, posted a photo of the front cover of a book called The Gay Year by M de F (originally published in 1949) and described on the cover as "The revealing novel of two men and a forbidden passion."

The book is probably out of print but I would love to read it. The Strand bookstore in the Chelsea section of Manhattan might have a copy or two in its miles and miles of books.

It would be interesting to see if homosexuality is depicted as sordid, perverse, wicked, and psychotic. If it does, The Gay Year would reflect the attitudes prevalent back then.

I'm hoping the novel was way ahead of its time by showing a more progressive, enlightened view. We'll see.