Strange Sisters: The Art of Lesbian Pulp Fiction 1949-1969 (Paperback)

by Jaye Zimet (Author), Ann Bannon (Foreword)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Do you walk alone, a twilight lover? Odd one out? Warped? Troubled? Twisted? Jaye Zimet, a Brooklyn book designer and collector, has filled Strange Sisters with over 200 sleazily appealing book covers from the boom years of the lesbian pulp novel, arranging them in groups from "Positive Portraits" and more ambitious "Cliterature" to "Psycho-Babble" and an entire section devoted to cleavage. Although large numbers of their original readers in the '50s and '60s were lesbians or protolesbians hoping for a glimpse of themselves or for some tenuous connection to an almost mythical community of "unnatural lovers," the covers of these books were clearly targeted to a primary audience of furtive young men. Scantily clad, buxom blondes simper under the gaze of older, "experienced" brunettes sometimes wearing trousers or short hair but never without lipstick. To the eye of Ann Bannon and her contemporaries, these women seemed as "straight as a pine tree." But "despite the almost comical distance between the covers and the contents," Bannon concludes in her foreword, "the books found both their intended audiences.... If there was a solitary woman on the cover, provocatively dressed, and the title conveyed her rejection by society or her self-loathing, it was a lesbian book." --Regina Marler

Product Description
A vivid, sexy, and titillating journey into the steamy underworld of the dime novel.

In the scandalous world of pulp fiction in the 1950s and into the 60s, detectives, gangsters, and mad doctors were joined on the racks by bad girls, dissolute youths, drug-crazed beatniks, and other assorted miscreants and misfits. Where romance met with soft porn there was also a surprisingly large population of butch brunettes pursuing and seducing blond femmes. This was an alternate universe of erotic pulp fiction where gals and dolls were exploring the illicit pleasures of lesbian love--much to the delight of a largely male, heterosexual readership. Before the sexual revolution of the 1960s, these books offered a thrilling peek into the deviant underworld of wild passion and scandalous sex.

Strange Sisters is a collection of the cover art of these wildly wicked novels. The women who writhe across the covers of books such as Strange Lust ("She Wanted a Woman--Then She Met Another Woman Obsessed by the Same Burning Hunger") and Women's Barracks ("The Frank Autobiography of a French Girl Soldier") sizzle with sexual energy and freedom--in a high-camp defiance of the prudish, conservative 1950s. Bold, kitschy-colorful, and fraught with sexual tension, the covers of Strange Sisters are a siren call to the retro-groovin' man, or woman, in your life.

Product Details

• Paperback: 158 pages
• Publisher: Studio (August 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140284028
• ISBN-13: 978-0140284027
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #591,344 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cleavage! Cleavage! Cleavage!, February 9, 2001

By	Lesbian Reader (USA) - See all my reviews

The 50s and 60s strapped women into undergear that created cleavage only since surpassed by Xena. This collection features covers from lesbian pulp fiction of that era and the cleavage is eye-popping! It's delightful to thumb through, a real blast from the past to read.

Aside from the cover art is the copy from the covers. Phrases like "The Savage Novel of a Lesbian on the Loose" and "Blunt revelations of what happens when deviate women seek advancement in the business world" and "His new girl-wife was a vibrant, virgin beauty...and a sensual, shrewd, licentious lesbian!"

Then there's the pure trash ... titles like "Satan was a lesbian" and "Man Hater" with covers so campy they made me laugh. All in all, this a really fun book and quite a conversation piece!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A marvelous collection of scandalous cover art, August 24, 2002

By	Michael J. Mazza (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

I was really intrigued by "Strange Sisters: The Art of Lesbian Pulp Fiction 1949-1969," by Jaye Zimet. The book also features a foreword by writer Ann Bannon. The book is basically a collection of full color reproductions of the cover art of lesbian-themed books.

Pictured is the art from books with titles like "Women's Barracks," "Women in Prison," "Reform School Girls," "Warped Women," and "By Love Depraved." There is a gallery of art from Bannon's historically significant books, as well as a gallery of covers from different editions of "The Well of Loneliness" (the mother of all lesbian novels). The cover art is often titillating, often outrageous; there are occasional hints of violence and some really poignant images. A fascinating historical collection of images of lesbianism in popular culture.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars no matter what your persuasion..., July 1, 2004

By	popular culture lover (Travelers Rest, SC United States) - See all my reviews

As a straight male and a pulp/paperback enthusiast, I approached this book curiously, wondering if I was really its "intended audience." I didn't know whether the book had some hidden agenda. After a look, I see that it's a real gem and no political manifesto. This is a great exposition of the illustrators who (at least then) toiled in anonimity, creating this wonderfully evocative art. The art reproductions are excellent, with interesting text. I recommend.