Your John: The Love Letters of Radclyffe Hall
This book represents the first publication of original writing by Radclyffe Hall, author of The Well of Loneliness, in over fifty years. Deciphered and edited by Hall scholar and biographer Joanne Glasgow, Your John is a selection of Hall's love letters to Evguenia Souline, a White Russian emigre with whom Hall fell completely and passionately in love in the summer of 1934. Written between this first meeting and the onset of Hall's last illness in 1942, these letters detail Hall's growing...
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This landmark book represents the first publication of original writing by Radclyffe Hall, author of The Well of Loneliness, in over 50 years. One of the most famous and influential lesbian novelists of the twentieth century, Hall became a cause clbre in 1928, upon the publication of her novel The Well of Loneliness, when the British government brought action on behalf of the Crown to declare the book obscene. Probably the most widely read lesbian novel ever written, the book has been continuously in print since its first publication and remains to this day an important part of the literary landscape. Expertly deciphered and edited by Hall scholar and biographer Joanne Glasgow, Your John is a selection of Hall's love letters to Evguenia Souline, a White Russian èmigrè with whom Hall fell completely and passionately in love in the summer of 1934. Written between this first meeting and the onset of Hall's last illness in 1942, these letters detail Hall's growing obsession, the pain to her life partner Una Troubridge of this betrayal, and the poignant hopelessness of a happy resolution for any of the three women. It was ultimately this relationship, Glasgow argues, which tragically precipitated the decline in Hall's creative work and her health. The letters also provide important new information about her views on lesbianism and take us well beyond the artistic limits she imposed on the characters in The Well of Loneliness. They shed light on her views on religion, politics, war, and the literary and artistic scene. Illuminating both the nature of her relationships and her views on the current politics of the time, Your John will greatly extend the range of our knowledge about Radclyffe Hall.Publishers WeeklyMany assumptions have been made about the degree to which Radclyffe Hall's lesbian classic, The Well of Loneliness, may be autobiographical. Your John dismisses all such notions. This exhaustive collection of letters written between 1934 and 1942 to Evguenia Souline, a White Russian migr with whom Hall fell deeply in love are detailed, intimate records of Hall's personal life and convictions (only one of Souline's letters survives). As Glasgow notes in her excellent introduction, the love affair between Hall and Souline started during Hall's relationship with Una, Lady Troubridge, which lasted from 1915 until Hall's death in 1943. Hall had a deep commitment and sense of obligation toward Lady Troubridge and never imagined living without her. But as the letters show, the degree of emotional stress in the daily lives of all three women as they tried to accommodate the situation was great. Hall comes across as at once infinitely romantic and oddly practical. She praised Souline constantly, questioned her loyalty and fussed endlessly over her well-being. However, these letters chronicle much more than Hall's obsessive love for Souline. Hall's views on homosexuality turn out to be far more advanced than any reading of The Well might suggest. Her knowledge of current events, her devotion to her writing and her emotional and fiscal generosity toward Souline combine to paint a portrait of a devoted, passionate writer with an unquenchable thirst for love. There is nothing romantic about this collection, however, as Hall's relationship with Souline seems to have been impossible from the beginning. If Hall's neurotic tone is sometimes grating, the collection is still a heart-wrenching record of how politics, money, and geography converged to undermine these women's dreams. (Feb.)
\ Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly\ Many assumptions have been made about the degree to which Radclyffe Hall's lesbian classic, The Well of Loneliness, may be autobiographical. Your John dismisses all such notions. This exhaustive collection of letters written between 1934 and 1942 to Evguenia Souline, a White Russian migr with whom Hall fell deeply in love are detailed, intimate records of Hall's personal life and convictions (only one of Souline's letters survives). As Glasgow notes in her excellent introduction, the love affair between Hall and Souline started during Hall's relationship with Una, Lady Troubridge, which lasted from 1915 until Hall's death in 1943. Hall had a deep commitment and sense of obligation toward Lady Troubridge and never imagined living without her. But as the letters show, the degree of emotional stress in the daily lives of all three women as they tried to accommodate the situation was great. Hall comes across as at once infinitely romantic and oddly practical. She praised Souline constantly, questioned her loyalty and fussed endlessly over her well-being. However, these letters chronicle much more than Hall's obsessive love for Souline. Hall's views on homosexuality turn out to be far more advanced than any reading of The Well might suggest. Her knowledge of current events, her devotion to her writing and her emotional and fiscal generosity toward Souline combine to paint a portrait of a devoted, passionate writer with an unquenchable thirst for love. There is nothing romantic about this collection, however, as Hall's relationship with Souline seems to have been impossible from the beginning. If Hall's neurotic tone is sometimes grating, the collection is still a heart-wrenching record of how politics, money, and geography converged to undermine these women's dreams. (Feb.)\ \ \ \ \ Library JournalGlasgow (coeditor of Lesbian Texts and Contexts, New York University, 1990) has collected the revealing letters written by Radclyffe Hallbest known for her groundbreaking novel of lesbian love, The Well of Loneliness (1928)to Evguenia Souline. Dating from their first meeting (1934) to the last year of Hall's life (1942), the letters chronicle the two women's affair, doomed because Hall refused to leave Una Troubridge, her lover of 19 years. The letters expose Hall's obsessive need to control (she gave Souline an allowance but dictated how the money would be spent), her conservative political views, her anti-Semitism, and her belief that homosexuality is an inborn rather than a learned trait. Castle's (The Apparitional Lesbian, LJ 11/1/93) volume explores the literary friendship of Hall and Noel Coward. Castle argues that Hall and Coward influenced each other's writings to the extent that "ghosts" of each appeared in the other's novels: Noel Coward as Jonathan Brockert in The Well, and Hall, Troubridge, and Souline as the heterosexual triangle in Blythe Spirit. While Castle's argument is convincing, the most interesting contribution of her book is her exploration of the relationships between gay men and lesbians in the first half of 20th-century Europe. Both books, especially Your John for its primary material, are recommended for all academic and large public libraries and all libraries with gay/lesbian collections.Melodie Frances, Univ. of San Francisco Lib.\ \ \ Publisher's WeeklyMany assumptions have been made about the degree to which Radclyffe Hall's lesbian classic, The Well of Loneliness, may be autobiographical. Your John dismisses such notions. This exhaustive collection of letters written between 1934 and 1942 to Evguenia Souline, a White Russian émigré with whom Hall fell deeply in love are detailed, intimate records of Hall's personal life and convictions. . . . the collection is a heart-wrenching record of how politics,money, and geography converged to undermine these women's dreams.\ \ \ \ \ Kirkus ReviewsPassionate and revealing love letters from the iconic lesbian novelist.\ Radclyffe Hall, one of the most popular lesbian writers—and personalities—in history, is getting a fresh look (see Terry Castle's Noel Coward and Radclyffe Hall, p. 1437). Now Glasgow has collected Hall's love letters to White Russian émigrée Evguenia Souline, which were written over a period of eight years, beginning in 1934, when the two women met. At that time, Hall ("John" to her friends) was 54 years old and living with Una Troubridge, her devoted life partner of 18 years. Troubridge was devastated by Hall's wandering affections but stayed with her, even helping with the logistics of the affair. Troubridge contacted officials about visas and naturalization papers for "the other woman" (since Souline was a refugee living in Paris, arranging for her to travel was always complicated). And when Hall became too ill to write to Souline herself, Troubridge took dictation. The letters are thoroughly engrossing; sexually frank, they provide a window into the obsessive eroticism, and simple sadness, of doomed love affairs. They also reveal much about Radclyffe Hall's politics, which are disturbingly fascist and anti-Semitic at points. More interestingly, the letters suggest the kind of lover she was—caring, yet often manipulative and unreasonable. Her writing, and her life with Una, are non-negotiable commitments, yet when Souline's concerns—her work as a nurse, her desire for a more exclusive relationship—threaten the affair, Hall angrily dismisses them. She gives Souline considerable financial support but often uses money as a means of control. Glasgow (English and Women's Studies/Bergen Community College) has chosen these letters well and provides helpful context. Sometimes, though, she leaves crucial questions unasked, such as why only one letter from Souline to John survives.\ These letters will be much enjoyed by the enduring Hall fan club, and by literary enthusiasts and voyeurs.\ \ \
