The Girls in 3-B

Valerie Taylor, Tania Modleski

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Book cover for The Girls in 3-B
Book cover for The Girls in 3-B
Book cover for The Girls in 3-B
Book cover for The Girls in 3-B

The Girls in 3-B

The Girls in 3-B

Valerie Taylor, Tania Modleski

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Description

This classic pulp novel about three young women who leave behind their small-town roots for the big city is "a remarkable slice of bohemia from the 1950s" and a "wondrous tale of love, lesbianism, poetry, and sex" (Jack Halberstam).

Annice, Pat, and Barby are best friends from Iowa, freshly arrived in booming 1950s Chicago to explore different paths toward independence, self-expression, and sexual freedom. From the hip-hang of a bohemian lifestyle to the sophisticated lure of romance with a handsome, wealthy, married boss to the happier security of a lesbian relationship, these three experience firsthand the dangers and limitations of women's economic reliance on men.

Lesbian pulp author Valerie Taylor skillfully paints a sociological portrait of the emotional and economic pitfalls of heterosexuality in 1950s America--and then offers a defiantly subversive alternative. A classic pulp tale showcasing predatory beatnik men, drug hallucinations, and secret lesbian trysts, The Girls in 3-B approaches the theme of sex from the stiffened vantage point of 1950s psychology.

Femmes Fatales restores to print the best of women's writing in the classic pulp genres of the mid-20th century. From mystery to hard-boiled noir to taboo lesbian romance, these rediscovered queens of pulp offer subversive perspectives on a turbulent era.

About the Author

Valerie Taylor is the pen name of Velma Young, author of the lesbian pulp classics Whisper Their Love (1957), The Girls in 3-B (1959), World Without Men (1963), Journey to Fulfillment (1964), and Ripening (1988). With the $500 proceeds of her first novel, Hired Girl (1953), Taylor bought a pair of shoes, two dresses, and hired a divorce lawyer. After leaving her husband, she kicked off a prolific career as the author of pulp fiction novels, poetry (under the name of Nacella Young), and romances (under the name Francine Davenport). A long-time activist for gay and lesbian rights, she was a co-founder of Mattachine Midwest and the Lesbian Writers Conference in Chicago.

Critical Reviews

"A remarkable slice of bohemia from the 1950s. Valerie Taylor gives 'pulp' a good name and weaves a wondrous tale of love, lesbianism, poetry, and sex around three young women who leave their small town for the allure of the big city." --Jack Halberstam, author of Female Masculinity

"The Girls in 3-B will give you a sense of the dangers and delights of passion between women in another era. . . . Valerie Taylor's much-loved story has achieved well-deserved classic status in the lesbian pulp canon." --Ann Bannon, author of Odd Girl Out

Publishing Information

Publisher: Feminist Press
Pub date: 2003-11-01
Length: 256 pages

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