The Great Gay Novel

A dozen favourite novels about male-male love

12 Pins

Graham Jackson

a drawing of a man wearing a suit and bow tie

Schiele Egon

Self Portrait Drawing

Painting Reproductions

In the twenties, a young man writes to his fiancée explaining how his 'nature' prevents him from marrying. A moody and yet gorgeous piece of writing from the author of "Memoirs of Hadrian".

an old book with writing on the front and back cover that reads,'e m forrest

A beautiful read, every bit as beautiful as the film. A young upper middle-class man looks for love in pre-WWI England and finds it with a brave young gamekeeper.

the book cover for the heart in exile, featuring two men sitting next to each other

A novel that chronicles a psychiatrist's attempts to solve the mystery of his ex's mysterious death.

a book cover with an image of a man holding a piece of paper in his hand

A direct, simply-told, but lyrical account of a young Englishman's coming-to-terms with his sexual nature

the front cover of brides head revisted by evelyn waugh, with an illustration of a fountain

The deservedly honoured story of Charles Ryder and his fascination with the wealthy Marchmain family, especially the tormented gay Sebastian. Also, one of the most melancholic stories ever penned.

two young boys sitting on top of each other in front of a sign that says the blue lawn

A teenage boy falls in love with an 'exotic' newcomer to his rural New Zealand neighbourhood

the charlotter by mary reaultt is shown in an open book cover

Covering Books

Literature Illustration

Cover Art Book

The Turn Of The Screw

World War II again. Two former public school boys meet up in the aftermath of Dunkirk and find themselves wrestling with their feelings.

a book with barbed wire on the cover and title strange meeting, susan hill written in black

Two men meet and confess their love in the trenches of World War One.

the cover of another country by james baldwin

New York, early '60s, interracial love, love between men, love between men & women: breath-taking writing.

an old book with red trim on the front and back cover, which reads imre a menorandum

Title page of a very early gay novel (available in recent editions, Broadview Literary Texts or Arno Press) portraying the love of an Englishman for a handsome Hungarian soldier who, as it turns out, is also gay.