Sapphic Fathers

Gretchen Schultz explores how male writers and their readers in late nineteenth-century France took lesbianism as a cipher for apprehensions about sex and gender during a time of social and political upheaval.

Gretchen Schultz is a professor in the Department of French Studies at Brown University.

‘One of the amazing "take always" of this ambitious study is the uncovering of the enormous intertextual debt of the American lesbian pulp movement to the French "Sapphic fathers."

Brian Dempsey:

‘Schultz succeeds brilliantly in bringing nineteenth-century French culture, social concerns and gender politics vividly to life.’

A.M. Rea:

‘The scholars of 19th- century France will recognize this wide ranging, deeply researched, beautifully expressed study of both elite and popular culture as a major contribution… Highly recommended.’

A.M. Rea:

‘Wide-ranging, deeply researched, beautifully expressed study of both elite and popular culture…. Highly recommended.’

Peter Cryle, Emeritus Professor, Centre for the History of European Discourses, University of Queensland:

“A significant scholarly achievement. Readers whose primary interest is in cultural or intellectual history have a lot to gain from this research.”

Melanie C. Hawthorne, Department of European and Classical Languages and Cultures, Texas A&M University:

“Gretchen Schultz presents a unique and novel perspective on an important topic. The final chapter is a tour de force of literary history and criticism.”

Laure Murat, Department of French and Francophone Studies, University of California, Los Angeles:

“Sapphic Fathers analyses a vast array of literature on lesbianism written by male authors in nineteenth-century France, and whose influence can be traced into American culture and especially pulp fiction. A serious and well-documented account.”