In the closeted world of post-war America there was an author named Ann Bannon - not her real name - who wrote a book called "Odd Girl Out". This became a pulp classic in what was growing into a whole genre of lesbian and gay themed books, becoming the second best selling paperback of 1957. Even though they were written poorly with often over-wrought purple prose, this pulp fiction became a life-line to many gay people across this country. These books proved to them that they weren't alone in their "secret" desires. The casts of characters always include the types we have come to know and expect in lesbian-themed writings: the good girl led astray by the wicked girl or girls...often in a barracks or a jail house...or better yet the mean streets and dank alleyways of Greenwich Village...and always leading to a bad end for all concerned! These books are cherished by many of us now not only for the trashy tales and hysterically outdated and cliched characters, but for the cover art. These covers made no attempt to hide the subject matter. In fact the art usually embellished the subject matter and was often the best part of the book! Here are a few sites where you can read more and view more of this great and trashy art form.
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~popcult/pulp.htm
http://www.afterellen.com/books/2007/10/acrossthepage?page=0%2C1
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