Out of the Closet: A Collection of Early LGBTQ+ Fiction
Various
Read by LibriVox Volunteers
This is a collection of 22 LGBTQ+ stories published between 1841-1923, covering a wide span of authors, genres, and literary traditions. Some stories are coded and euphemistic, often framing their central relationships as friendships or familial bonds. Others are surprisingly brazen and bold for their time, courting controversy for their refusal to obscure the sexuality of their chararcters. Some tales come from canonical, widely known authors (Whitman, Chopin, Wilde, Cather), while others emerge from obscurer and less recognized writers (Thanet, Cooke, Bunner). Some are tragic and self-critical, clearly the byproducts of when they were written. Others are lightly comedic or triumphant, bucking the conventions of the time. Throughout each story, however, persists a desire to represent the seemingly unrepresentable, finding expression for the “love that dare not speak its name.”
- Summary by ChuckW (18 hr 15 min)
Chapters
| The Child's Champion | 24:18 | Read by Tasha C Mapes |
| In the Tules | 39:25 | Read by Cavaet |
| The Falling in Love of Fedora | 6:45 | Read by Tasha C Mapes |
| The Man who thought Himself a Woman | 49:27 | Read by Yuhan L Jiang |
| Pearl Hunting in the Pomotous | 27:52 | Read by whisperintoearth |
| Twin Love | 38:24 | Read by VachaT |
| Portrait of W.H. Chapter 1 | 30:15 | Read by Philip Erickson |
| Portrait of W.H. Chapter 2 & 3 | 29:28 | Read by Philip Erickson |
| Felipa | 52:31 | Read by Anamika |
| My Visitation Part 1 | 29:51 | Read by WendyKatzHiller |
| My Visitation Part 2 | 34:49 | Read by WendyKatzHiller |
| A Scrap of Paper part 1 | 43:57 | Read by Chuck Williamson |
| A Scrap of Paper part 2 | 44:18 | Read by Chuck Williamson |
| The Man who became a Woman part 1 | 47:49 | Read by ashleighjane |
| The Man who became a Woman part 2 | 46:37 | Read by ashleighjane |
| Out of the Deeps | 23:16 | Read by Tomas Peter |
| There and Now | 35:05 | Read by Nancy Halper |
| Marjorie Daw | 48:01 | Read by Christine Rottger |
| Two Friends | 26:56 | Read by Colleen McMahon |
| Martha's Lady | 38:33 | Read by EliseDee |
| My Lorelei: A Heidelberg Romance | 46:00 | Read by PinewoodMists |
| Our Aromatic Uncle | 34:31 | Read by Joanna Schreck |
| The True Story Of A Vampire | 21:16 | Read by Tomas Peter |
| The Heart’s Desire | 4:47 | Read by Tasha C Mapes |
| Two Gentlemen of Kentucky" (part one) | 45:56 | Read by Mark Nelson |
| Two Gentlemen of Kentucky" (part two) | 22:41 | Read by Mark Nelson |
| A Boy's Discovery | 18:58 | Read by Donald Cummings |
| Paul’s Case: A Study in Temperament | 1:04:19 | Read by WendyKatzHiller |
| The Prussian Officer (Chapter 1) | 25:00 | Read by VachaT |
| The Prussian Officer (Chapter 2) | 27:43 | Read by VachaT |
| "Aquae Multae Non––" (Part I) | 30:16 | Read by Devan Tatlow |
| "Aquae Multae Non––" (Part 2) | 36:30 | Read by Devan Tatlow |