Patience and Sarah

infobox Book |
name = Patience & Sarah
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = paperback edition cover
author = Isabel Miller
illustrator =
cover_artist = MaryAnn Willson
country = United States
language = English
series =
genre = Lesbian fiction and Historical novel
publisher = Ballantine Books
release_date = 1969 (Under the title "A Place For Us")
english_release_date =
media_type = Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
pages = 192 pp
isbn = ISBN 0449210073
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"Patience and Sarah" is a 1969 historical fiction lesbian novel by Alma Routsong, using the pen name Isabel Miller. It was originally self-published under the title "A Place For Us" and eventually found a publisher as "Patience and Sarah" in 1971. [cite web|url=http://www.nickihastie.demon.co.uk/muted.htm|title=The Muted Lesbian Voice: Coming out of camouflage] cite web|url=http://www.patienceandsarah.com/Routsong.html|title=1962-72: ALMA ROUTSONG: Writing and Publishing "Patience and Sarah"]

It is fiction based on a real-life painter named Mary Ann Willson who lived with her companion Miss Brundage as a "farmerette" in the early 19th century in Greene County, New York. Routsong said she came upon Willson's work in a folk art museum in Cooperstown and was inspired to write the story after reading the description of Willson and Brundage. It tells the story of two women in Connecticut in 1816 who fall in love and decide to leave their homes to buy a farm in another state or territory and live in a Boston marriage. The story addresses the limited opportunities and roles of women in early America, gender expression, and the interpretation of religion in everyday life.

Sarah Waters, author of "Tipping the Velvet" and other historical novels with lesbian themes, [cite web|url=http://www.palgrave-journals.com/fr/journal/v85/n1/full/9400323a.html|title=Interview with Sarah Waters] has said that this book was an influence on her writing. She received the book from a girlfriend in 1988 at age 22 and was "struck by the lyricism and economy of it, by its gentle humour, and by its sexiness." [cite web|url=http://www.biggayread.com/bgrrecommends/further_reading.php?page=1|title=Sarah Waters on "Patience and Sarah"]

Plot summary

The story is told in switching first-person narratives between Patience and Sarah. The first part is told by Patience White, a woman of considerable means compared to others in her town. Her father died and left her enough money that she would not have to marry to be cared for. She lives with her brother and his wife and children, in a room she has to herself, something her sister-in-law Martha considers an unnatural privilege. Patience paints Biblical scenes as a pastime, and helps Martha with the children sometimes. They do not get along well.

Patience has known of Sarah Dowling for a while since Sarah is a scandalous character to some, wearing pants and doing men's work. Sarah has a family of sisters and her father trained her to do men's work since he had no sons. Intrigued one day when Sarah delivers firewood to the White household, and to flout Martha, Patience invites Sarah into her part of the house and socializes with her. Sarah divulges that she plans to set out by herself and go west and buy her own farm. Not having the heart to tell her that she will not have the opportunity to do it, Patience indulges Sarah and tells her she wants to come along. In the midst of planning the trip west, Sarah admits she feels for Patience, and although too aware of the danger, Patience also admits her attraction for Sarah.

Sarah returns to her much poorer home, where she lives with her large family in a one-room cabin. She tells her sister Rachel that she's going west with Patience as her mate, and Rachel, upset by being replaced to go west by Patience, tells their father who beats Sarah, then drags her to Patience's home to demand to know the nature of their relationship. Faced with having to admit their acts in front of witnesses, Patience denies she feels anything for Sarah and that it was all a game.

The narrative switches to Sarah's perspective, as she leaves west alone, healing from the beatings her father gave her (no harm meant, he says). Sarah cuts off all her hair, renames herself "Sam", takes an axe and walks west. After a few experiences that leave freedom a lot to be desired, Sam takes up with a traveling Parson who goes town to town selling books in a horse-drawn rig he sleeps in. He teaches Sam to defend himself against boys in towns, to cook, teaches him about the Bible and other cultures, but most importantly, teaches him to read. In time, Parson admits he's attracted to Sam and when he tries to seduce Sam, Sarah admits her true identity.

Away about six months, she heads home as Parson heads towards New York, his home. Patience arrives the next day to casually invite her to Sunday dinner. She goes, without beatings, and their relationship starts again after Patience admits she lost her courage. They carry on their relationship, Sarah visiting Patience on Sundays, sometimes bringing a sister or her mother, but when they are caught embracing with their bodices open by Martha, Patience's brother admits it's time for them to go.

They head to New York City with brother Edward's blessing. Sarah, not knowing how the finer points of being a lady, is assaulted during the voyage on the ship there, and Patience rescues her and teaches her the necessary points of being a lady. They lodge with the captain and in their first locked room alone, consummate their relationship. They meet up with the Parson again and decide that upstate New York in Greene County will be their destination, where land is cheap and they can live in peace.

They arrive in Greene County and they negotiate the purchase of a small farm, plant their crop and begin their life together.

Distribution and sale of the book

Routsong originally published 1,000 copies of the book using her own money, selling them on street corners in New York City and at meetings of the Daughters of Bilitis. [cite web|url=http://www.glbtq.com/literature/miller_i.html|title=Isabel Miller] She contacted Gene Damon (Barbara Grier) at "The Ladder", who also promoted the book in the book review section of the magazine, calling it "a gem" and that, "it very much belongs with that small bookshelf full of basic classics of Lesbian literature." [Damon, Gene. "Lesbiana," "The Ladder" 1969-1970 vol 14 issue 3/4: pp 22-27.] Grier also had to assure their readership, who had to order the book directly from Routsong that she was an actual person, not a police agency. Routsong then resubmitted the novel to publishers under a pseudonym.

Awards and nominations

*The novel won the Stonewall Book Award for 1971.
*"Patience and Sarah" was listed as #24 on The Publishing Triangle's list of 100 Best Lesbian and Gay Novels. [cite web|url=http://www.publishingtriangle.org/100best.asp|title=The 100 best lesbian and gay novels]

Adaptations

The novel was adapted into an opera by Paula M. Kimper, to a libretto by Wende Persons. [ [http://www.patienceandsarah.com/ Patience & Sarah ] ] It debuted at the Lincoln Center Festival in 1998 [cite web |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D02E5DD1631F933A25754C0A96E958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all |title=Romance Colored by Danger and Ecstasy |accessdate=2008-04-13 |last=Tommasini |first=Anthony |coauthors= |date=1998-07-10 |work=The New York Times |publisher= ] , and has been revived several times since. Alma Routsong gave her approval to the project shortly before her death, but did not survive to hear more than a few songs from the score performed privately. The idea for the opera originated with Parson's crush on a soprano in 1981, when Parson wrote the music to impress her. When she was rejected, she kept the work until she met Kimper and they both revived its creation in 1989. [cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1589/is_n759/ai_20830602|title=Persons and Kimper: "Patience and Sarah"]

Concerning the 1996 pre-premiere of the semi-staged final draft, with piano accompaniment, "The New York Times" claimed it had "an accessible, attractively lyrical score" and that, "Sarah has a gorgeous, Ravelian aria at the start of the second act." [cite web|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9907E2D81339F931A35754C0A960958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print|title=Two Women With Gumption |last=Kozzin |first=Allan |coauthors= |date=1996-07-02 |work=The New York Times |publisher= ] The 1998 premiere of the completed work was also well reviewed: The "Opera News" claimed "the opera bubbles with glorious vocal writing" and the best parts were the duets between Patience and Sarah, but that Parson Peel's music actually stole the show. [cite web|url=http://www.metoperafamily.org/operanews/_archive/998/InReview.998.html|title=Opera review of "Patience and Sarah"]

References

External links

* [http://www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/psearch?Request=S&imageset=1&Person=204770 Mary Ann Willson at the National Gallery of Art]
* [http://www.mfa.org/collections/search_art.asp?coll_accession=&coll_name=&coll_place=&coll_medium=&coll_culture=&coll_credit=&coll_provenance=&coll_has_
]
* [http://www.glbtq.com/literature/butch_femme,3.html "Patience and Sarah" in the context of butch-femme relations]