The Girls in 3-B (Femmes Fatales) [Paperback]

Valerie Taylor (Author), Lisa Walker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2003 | Series: Femmes Fatales

Annice, Pat, and Barby are best friends from Iowa, freshly arrived in booming 1950s Chicago to explore different paths toward independence, self--expression, and sexual freedom. From the hip-hang of a bohemian lifestyle to the sophisticated lure of romance with a handsome, wealthy, married boss to the happier security of a lesbian relationship, these three experience firsthand the dangers and limitations of women’s economic -reliance on men. Well-known lesbian pulp author Valerie Taylor skillfully paints a sociological portrait of the emotional and economic pitfalls of heterosexuality in 1950s America—and then offers a defiantly subversive alternative. A classic pulp tale showcasing predatory beatnik men, drug hallucinations, and secret lesbian trysts, The Girls in 3-B approaches the theme of sex from the stiffened vantage point of 1950s psychology.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Originally published in 1959 and reissued as part of the Feminist Press's new Femme Fatale series of pulp fiction by women writers, this is genre literature with a few twists. Three young women move to Chicago and room together; each wants to emancipate herself from smalltown mores. Annice, a would-be poet, dreams of associating with the intelligentsia; Pat is a secretary in a publishing firm who develops a powerful attraction to her engaged boss; and Barby is a stunning shop clerk whose sexual desire for her supervisor-a female-takes her by surprise but ultimately enriches her life. Searching for their true identities in an era that values sanitized, middle-class, heterosexual conventions, the girls are faced with the classic choice between "good boys" and "bad boys." Annice is torn between nihilistic artist Alan and stable Midwesterner Jackson, who is studying to be a physicist; Pat must weigh Blake, her philandering boss, against Stan, a junior company man with a longstanding crush on her. The book's insights into issues like sexual abuse, infidelity, the corporate glass ceiling, drug experimentation (there is a wild three-page peyote trip that rivals some Beat writers' renditions) and sexual double standards (and how to manipulate them) are surprisingly modern, though two of the three protagonists eventually drift toward conventional happiness. This is a refreshing entry for the genre, mercifully devoid of the moralistic and cautionary elements common in much 1950s pulp.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: The Feminist Press at CUNY; 1 edition (November 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558614567
• ISBN-13: 978-1558614567
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #159,857 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Retro (and subversive) entertainment, January 1, 2004

By 

"blissengine" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Girls in 3-B (Femmes Fatales) (Paperback)

In this classic pulp reprint, three young women move from a small town to the hustle and bustle of Chicago, where they hope to fulfill their dreams. Pat is saving herself for marriage and develops a crush on a man in her office who seems so out of reach. Annice is studying poetry at college, at least until she can get married, but when she meets Alan, their relationship doesn't exactly progress as she hoped. Barby breathes easier now that she's away from home, but feels as though she will always be easy prey for men. When Barby begins a friendship with her boss Miss Gordon, she finds herself awakening to something for which she has no words. In her afterword, Lisa Walker posits "The Girls in 3-B" within the pulp genre of the 1950s and `60s and details the subversive ways Valerie Taylor undermined the genre by including independent women and wholesome lesbian characters. This book is a shining example of early feminist works that shows the complexities of women's lives in the 1950s, as well as expressing the often-overlooked vibrancy of women's novels.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Wouldn't have read if it wasn't required., November 12, 2009

By 

Kelsey O'Conner - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Girls in 3-B (Femmes Fatales : Women Write Pulp) (Library Binding)

I had to read this book for a gender studies class. It really was not that great. I definitely wouldn't have read it for leisure. It's depressing and not anything inspiring to women who are looking to break out of the "homeworker" stereotypes. Give it a chance if you want, but I won't be reading it again.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Titillating Pulp, December 24, 2004

By 

LaMonte Heflick (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Girls in 3-B (Femmes Fatales) (Paperback)

This was an enjoyable read. The characters were delightful. Well written and absorbing. LaMonte Heflick, author Pup Fiction(TM) Books