Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown

Recommended - Reissue of the classic Lesbian Novel with a new introduction by Rita Mae Brown

Molly Bolt is a young lady with a big character. Beautiful, funny and bright, Molly figures out at a young age that she will have to be tough to stay true to herself in 1950s America. In her dealings with boyfriends and girlfriends, in the rocky relationship with her mother and in her determination to pursue her career, she will fight for her right to happiness. Charming, proud and inspiring, Molly is the girl who refuses to be put in a box.
 
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Molly is as vivid and funny as Huckleberry Finn. Back in the late 1970s everyone in the Women's Collective at uni had read Rubyfruit, which is why Rita in Educating Rita is so named. It provoked snobbery then, and probably still now: a book that makes you laugh so much cannot be serious literature. But Rubyfruit has a lot of serious points to make and is great fun along the way ― Guardian

The breakthrough lesbian novel ― Washington Post

Tough-talking, tenderhearted ― New York Times

A bawdy tale about growing up lesbian ― Atlanta Journal-Constitution
 
I found myself laughing hysterically, then sobbing uncontrollably just moments later. A powerful story... A truly incredible book ― The Boston Globe