About
Jane Rule's first novel-now a classic of gay and lesbian literature-established her as a foremost writer of the vagaries and yearnings of the female heart Against the backdrop of Reno, Nevada, in the late 1950s, award-winning author Jane Rule chronicles a love affair between two women. When Desert of the Heart opens, Evelyn Hall is on a plane that will take her from her old life in Oakland, California, to Reno, where she plans to divorce her husband of sixteen years. A voluntary exile in a brave new world, she meets a woman who will change her life. Fifteen years younger, Ann Childs works as a change apron in a casino. Evelyn is instantly drawn to the fiercely independent Ann, and their friendship soon evolves into a romantic relationship. An English professor who had always led a conventional life, Evelyn suddenly finds all her beliefs about love, morality, and identity called into question. Peopled by a cast of unforgettable characters, this is a novel that dares to ask whether love between two women can last.
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Reviews
"[Jane Rule was an] extraordinary writer-perhaps the most significant lesbian fiction writer of the 20th century."
Katherine V. Forrest, author of Curious Wine
"Cool, clear-eyed, compassionate and unsentimental, Jane Rule's work compares very well with the best fiction written anywhere."
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
"A landmark work of lesbian fiction."
The New York Times