Space and Irish Lesbian Fiction: Towards a Queer Liminality [Paperback]

Introduction: It was not in the light we lived, but in the spaces between  in the darkness

Chapter One: Inversion and queer liminality in the Nineteenth-century

Chapter Two: Liminal spaces and minority communities in the Twentieth-century

Chapter Three: Embracing queer liminal space in the late Twentieth-century

Chapter Four: (Liminal?) lesbians in the mainstream: Popular lesbian fiction

Conclusion: The lesbian death (bed): Contemporary queer Irish and Northern Irish writing

Space and Irish Lesbian Fiction offers an original and much-needed study of Irish Lesbian fiction. Evaluating a wide body of Irish lesbian fiction ranging from the Victorian era to the contemporary age, this book advocates for women writers who have been largely ignored in Irish literary history and criticism. This volume examines the use and applications of space in Irish lesbian fiction. In recent years, it can be argued that Irish society has created a new space for LGBT or queer people. The concept of space is, thus, important both symbolically and physically for lesbian literature. In asking, if Irish women writers have moved out of the shadows so to speak, what space is open to the Irish lesbian author? How is spatiality reflected in lesbian representation throughout Irish literary history? Space and Irish Lesbian Fiction examines a diverse range of writers from the nineteenth century to the contemporary age, evaluating the contributions of largely unknown authors who have been overlooked alongside more established voices within Irish literature. The concept of liminality that this volume takes as its theme and focus engalc.