Quatrefoil: A Modern Novel

Quatrefoil: A Modern Novel
First U.S. hardcover edition (1950)
Author James Barr
Language English
Publication date
 1950
Pages 321
ISBN 978-1-78-720064-7
LC Class PZ3.B2715 Qat

Quatrefoil: A Modern Novel, sometimes called Quatrefoil, is a novel about gay men written in 1950 by James W. Fugaté under the pen name James Barr.[1] It is known for being the first modern book to portray homosexuality in a positive way.[2] The main character, Phillip, is based on a college fraternity brother that the author had an affair with while in college.[3]

Quatrefoil has been translated into French[4] and German.[5]

Plot

Quatrefoil tells the story of a naval officer and banker named Phillip Froelich who is engaged to be married to a woman named Sybel Jo.[6] While under investigation by court-martial by the Navy in 1946, he meets and is assisted by Tim Danelaw, a superior officer. An affair with Tim causes Phillip to confront his closeted homosexuality.[7] They become lovers. They are masculine and intellectual characters who discuss art and philosophy, and thus are contrasted with behaviors of "the average homosexual" of the time.[4] Phillip wrestles with his feelings and thoughts of his future, and the choice between living a stable life running his family's bank, or pursuing his newfound feelings for Tim. Meanwhile Tim goes through a divorce with his wife Pat.[6]

Recognition

The novel presents an example of how gay men kept their homosexuality hidden in the 1950s.[8] It has been admired as a work that portrayed the main characters as people, which differentiated the novel from other gay literature of the time portraying homosexual men as campy.[9] Most gay works at the time had ended with either suicide or murder, another tradition broken by Quatrefoil.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Dave Parker (February 19, 2013). "LGBT Literature: James Barr, Quatrefoil". Daily Kos. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  2. ↑ "History". Quatrefoil Library. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  3. ↑ Hubert Kennedy. "Quatrefoil Broke New Ground". The Harvard Gay & Lesbian Review (Winter, 1996): 22–24. ISSN 1077-6591. Retrieved October 15, 2017. (subscription required)
  4. 1 2 Hubert Kennedy (2005). "Barr, James (James Fugaté) (1922-1995)" (PDF). GLBTQ Archive.
  5. ↑ Hubert Kennedy (2002). A Touch of Royalty: Gay Author James Barr (PDF). San Francisco: Peremptory Publications.
  6. 1 2 James Barr (1982). Quatrefoil. Boston, Massachusetts: Alyson Publications, Inc. ISBN 0932870163.
  7. ↑ "QUATREFOIL by James Barr". Kirkus Reviews.
  8. ↑ Stephen O. Murray (March 31, 1995). "Hell is other gay people: Quatrefoil". The Tangent Group. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  9. ↑ Keith, Thomas Andrew (November 1986). "In Print". Body Politic (132). ISSN 0315-3606.
  10. ↑ Cassell's Queer Companion. 1995. p. 204. ISBN 9780304343010.
  11. ↑ Adam G. Keim (2008). History of the Quatrefoil Library (PDF). Friends of the Bill of Rights Foundation. p. viii. ISBN 978-0-9668828-2-7.
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