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Marijane Meaker's first book, written under the first of several pseudonyms she was to use during her career, and generally credited with ushering in the lesbian pulp fiction genre. Chock full of guilt, shame, and melodrama as a naive coed joins a sorority and falls tragically in love with a beautiful girl hiding her true sexuality behind a randy boyfriend. Good, honest pulp, written with an awkwardness at times that works to its credit by charmingly reflecting that of the heroine. With suitably extreme plot twists and a pro forma ending that isn't fooling anyone. Men take a beating, but male readers get a fascinating glimpse of life in a 1950s sorority. Meaker explains in a foreward to the Cleis Press edition that the title was suggested by her editor who was hoping to cash in on confusion with James Michener's recent bestseller The Fires of Spring. The working title was Sorority Girl.
Marijane Meaker's first book, written under the first of several pseudonyms she was to use during her career, and generally credited with ushering in the lesbian pulp fiction genre. Chock full of guilt, shame, and melodrama as a naive coed joins a sorority and falls tragically in love with a beautiful girl hiding her true sexuality behind a randy boyfriend. Good, honest pulp, written with an awkwardness at times that works to its credit by charmingly reflecting that of the heroine. With suitably extreme plot twists and a pro forma ending that isn't fooling anyone. Men take a beating, but male readers get a fascinating glimpse of life in a 1950s sorority. Meaker explains in a foreward to the Cleis Press edition that the title was suggested by her editor who was hoping to cash in on confusion with James Michener's recent bestseller The Fires of Spring. The working title was Sorority Girl.