Rating: 
Summary: It's 1928, you feel queer and you're a woman
Review: With only heterosexuality as a guide, and lacking the modest freedom that male homosexuals were able to enjoy (usually as long as they did their duty by marrying), what is a woman to do when she longs to be with other women, in love and life? How can she not imagine herself at times to be male, queer, and alienated? I know many woman who won't read this book in spite of its historic importance, and it's always becaues they can't sympathize with the world view that Hall herself endured. When we can actually marry one another in some countries it is hard to understand why Hall only appeals for pity, for understanding and approval from the mainstream, mostly male society. But where else could she look? There was no "community" she could count on, no open lesbians in government to trust. I think if this book is read with the historical context firmly in mind, it is possible then to see the brilliance of the writing and the passion of the story.
Rating:
Summary: A book of great controversy
Review: ~I'm not quite sure whether to love of despise this book. It's so wrong in it's truthfulness and yet seems so dellusional. I mean being a lesbian I know how it feels and I can understand the fact that this story takes place it the very beginning of 20th century when the society was a lot less tolerate of homosexuals than now, but still it seems to me that Radclyffe Hall sometimes exaggerated the feelings of loneliness and despair felt by Stephen. Still in other moments during the book one is~~ made to wonder how some things still haven't changed while so many others have during the course of all these years. Some of the emotions the author describes are infinitly truthful. The one thing I would definitely change though is the ending because it just serves to add to the despair and show that so called "normalicy" (and many people still think of it this way) should always prevail in this world. I knew what was coming for many chapters ahead of the actual ending and yet couldn't~~ help but cry when I finally finished reading the last words.~
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