cover image TWILIGHT GIRLS: Two Unforgettable Classics from the Golden Age of Lesbian Pulp Fiction

TWILIGHT GIRLS: Two Unforgettable Classics from the Golden Age of Lesbian Pulp Fiction

Paula Christian, . . Kensington, $15 (304pp) ISBN 978-0-7582-0313-7

These thoroughly enjoyable linked novellas from veteran pulp novelist Christian were originally published in 1959 and 1963, but are surprisingly modern in their depiction of a rocky lesbian love affair. Edge of Twilight opens with strong-willed heroine Val "Mac" MacGregor, a New York–based stewardess, pondering a vague sense of dissatisfaction. Men fall all over the leggy and vivacious Mac, offering their undying love, marriage proposals and promises of steamy nights she will never forget—all of which leave her feeling empty. She senses an immediate attraction to dark-eyed Toni Molina, a novice "stew," but she doesn't know how to classify that feeling. After some passionate kisses and clandestine gropes, however, Mac realizes that she is sexually attracted to another woman, and it sends her scrambling for a transfer to Florida. Toni professes her undying love ("Oh, Mac, my greatest regret is that I am not a man so that I could have you!"), and after an unpleasant encounter with a predatory older woman and more love games with many men, Mac decides that she cannot live without Toni. The Other Side of Love finds Mac (now inexplicably called "Val") and Toni together after three years, finished with the airlines and heading to California to find work in the entertainment industry. It is immediately clear that their relationship is suffering new pangs, and as Val slowly discovers who she really is, a crisis develops, with cataclysmic results. Christian's snappy, racy style and unusually well developed characters will delight both gay and straight fans of vintage pulp fiction. (Jan.)