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A review by magnetgrrl
Chloe Plus Olivia: An Anthology of Lesbian Literature from the Seventeenth Century to the Present by Lillian Faderman
4.0
This anthology is thorough, though not always entertaining. Academically it's an excellent collection; the contents are in chronological order and split into sections named by the general type of representation in literature predominate for lesbians in each period covered. You can really see the spectrum and evolution of how lesbians and queer characters were viewed in different eras of literature.
But as far as merely wanting to read more early lesbian themed literature... there's certainly a lot of it in this book, and if you're reading it merely for informative purposes or historical context, this is perfect. However, if you're looking for romance, happy endings, positive or at least neural images of queer characters and women in relationships with other women... I would honestly suggest trying a more modern anthology instead. From reading this anthology, it seems early queer literature was more about demonizing, diagnosing, or in some other way attempting to 'explain' lesbians and bisexuals rather than really representing them. (And that includes some things written by lesbians and bisexuals themselves.) It's only positive if in reading it you can hold onto the thought that, well, at least we've come a long way.
But as far as merely wanting to read more early lesbian themed literature... there's certainly a lot of it in this book, and if you're reading it merely for informative purposes or historical context, this is perfect. However, if you're looking for romance, happy endings, positive or at least neural images of queer characters and women in relationships with other women... I would honestly suggest trying a more modern anthology instead. From reading this anthology, it seems early queer literature was more about demonizing, diagnosing, or in some other way attempting to 'explain' lesbians and bisexuals rather than really representing them. (And that includes some things written by lesbians and bisexuals themselves.) It's only positive if in reading it you can hold onto the thought that, well, at least we've come a long way.