Description

The first gay novel in America was written by Bayad Taylor, although readers of LGBT fiction today frequently aren't familiar with Joseph and His Friend, which was published in the nineteenth century. L.A. Fields, an author and researcher, aims to correct this with her most recent work. The book's annotations, which are included with each chapter, follow a similar pattern, beginning with the secrets of Halleck, the man who served as the story's inspiration, and ending with Taylor, the author, highlighting in particular his secret love for and public rivalry with Walt Whitman (Leaves of Grass).