Gale Wilhelm

Infobox Writer
name = Gale Wilhelm


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birthdate = April 6, 1908
birthplace = Eugene, Oregon
deathdate = July 11, 1991
deathplace = Berkley, California
occupation = writer
nationality = United States
period = 1934–43
genre = lesbian literature
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Gale Wilhelm (April 6, 1908 – July 11, 1991) was an American writer most noted for two books that featured lesbian themes written in the 1930s: "We Too Are Drifting" and "Torchlight to Valhalla". Published within 10 years of the groundbreaking "The Well of Loneliness" by Radclyffe Hall, both Wilhelm's books lacked the searing sense of shame and ostracism marked in Hall's novel.

Early life

Wilhelm was born in Eugene, Oregon of Ethel Gale Brewer and Wilson Price Wilhelm in 1908. She was the youngest of five children, educated in Oregon, Idaho, and Washington. The family moved to San Francisco, California when Wilhelm was a teenager.

Writing career

Wilhelm published several short stories in 1934 and 1935, her first appearing in "Literary America". With the assistance of a literary agent, Wilhelm published "We Too Are Drifting" in 1935 by Random House, to many favorable reviews. Although the lesbian protagonist loses the girl at the end of the novel, it in no way resembles the misery present throughout the only novel published about lesbianism to that point, "The Well of Loneliness".

In 1938, Random House published "Torchlight to Valhalla", another lesbian-themed novel in which the protagonist, a young woman, is pursued by a very handsome and charming young man, but realizes her true happiness is with another young woman.

Wilhelm wrote three more novels, "Bring Home the Bride" in 1940, "The Time Between" in 1942 and "Never Let Me Go" in 1945, all with heterosexual themes. "Never Let Me Go" included praise from Wilhelm's friend Carl Sandburg on the book jacket.

Wilhelm also published stories in "Colliers" and "Yale Review" in the early 1940s, but didn't publish anything new after 1943. However, both Wilhelm's lesbian themed books were reprinted many times in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. "Torchlight to Valhalla" was given a new name," The Strange Path", with a rather salacious cover in 1953.

In 1975, "Torchlight to Valhalla" was reprinted by Arno Press' library edition of "".

Personal life

Wilhelm lived with Helen Hope Rudolph Page in San Francisco from 1938 until Page's death in the late 1940s. Barbara Grier spent several years attempting to locate Wilhelm. The 1984 Naiad Press edition of "We Too Are Drifting" included a foreword by Grier describing Wilhelm's life and pleading for any assistance from anyone who knew any information on the whereabouts of Wilhelm.Grier, Barbara. "Foreword" "We Too Are Drifting". Naiad Press, 1984] By the time Naiad published "Torchlight to Valhalla" in 1985, it contained a foreword by Wilhelm herself, information given to Grier by an anonymous source.Wilhelm, Gale. "Foreword." "Torchlight to Valhalla". Naiad Press, 1985.] Grier speculated that Wilhelm stopped writing before she turned 40 years old because "the world would not let her write the books she wanted."Corrine, Tee. "Gale Wilhelm." Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History in America. Charles Scribner & Sons, 2004.]

She lived with Kathleen Huebner from 1953 until Wilhelm's death in 1991 of cancer.

Published works

*"We Too Are Drifting", 1934
*"No Letter for the Dead", 1936
*"Torchlight to Valhalla", 1938 (also published in the 1950s as "The Strange Path")
*"Bring Home the Bride", 1940
*"The Time Between", 1942
*"Never Let Me Go", 1945

References