Irrepressible Annie Heaphy, a cab driver from the bars, meets Victoria Locke, a feminist Yale student, and the love story of the eraand for the agesensues. A classic romance introducing many of Lynch's iconic characters who captured the hearts of generations of lesbians and remain among the most popular today.
Frenchy Tonneau leaves her closeted home in the Bronx for the bars of New York City, the freedom of Provincetown, and the liberation of Greenwich Village in the 1960s and 1970s. Her hangouts, her women, her small yet universal world tell the stories of the times—and the stories of lesbians today. A timeless journey and a riveting read, The Swashbuckler is heart-wrenching, heartwarming, and unforgettable.
Gathered for the first time in one collection, these short stories from Lee Lynch represent a quarter century of passionate portrayals of lesbian women. Lynch chronicles the lives of old women who fall in love, a Black firefighter seeking her place in the feminist community, bar dykes unwilling to back down, the denizens of lesbian-owned Café Femmes, and Henny—who runs an urban fruit stand while regaling her baby butch assistants with tales from her life. Iconic characters from Lynch's novels also make an appearance: Frenchy Tonneau from The Swashbuckler and Annie Heaphy from Toothpick House.
Lee Lynch’s work is considered among the classics and a cornerstone in the large and permanent foundation of lesbian literature.
Jaudon Vicker and Berry Garland are polar opposites yet know they are meant to be together. Growing up in steamy backcountry Central Florida, they fight each other’s battles: Berry protects boyish Jaudon from bullies, Jaudon gives the abandoned Berry roots. They pledge that nothing will part them, not a changing Florida nor a changing America, not Berry’s quest for her spiritual path, nor Jaudon’s ambition for her family's business. When the war in Vietnam, politics, police, rough times, society itself, and other women threaten to come between them, their bond grows deeper. In the safety of their secluded tree house hideaway, they learn to dream, dance—and to make love.
From Toothpick House to The Raid, Lee Lynch has given us our most heart-touching stories of lesbian life. Join her again in Morton River Valley when Texan Paris Collins comes to town and gets to know the characters from the acclaimed Morton River Valley trilogy.
Paris Collins changes jobs and homes every two years. Always, she leaves behind an astonished lover who refused to believe that Paris would move on. Now she's taken a job in a dying New England industrial town where she meets Peg Jacob, a tempting local from an old Yankee family. Paris gets caught up in protecting the town from environmental threats and education budget cuts. And in protecting an angry gay kid from an impoverished, frightened and angry town. Does she also want to protect herself from Peg Jacob?
Before Stonewall, having a drink with friends or your girl could mean jail.
In 1961, The Old Town Tavern is more than just a gay bar. It's a home to strangers who have become family. Murph, the dapper unschooled storyteller. Rockie Solomon, the gentle, generous observer. Lisa Jelane, in all her lonely dignity. Gorgeous Paul, so fragile, and his twin (straight?) sister Cissy. Deej, the angry innocent. Norman, plump and queenly lover of a college professor who's happiest in schoolmarm drag. Harry Van Epps, police officer, and old Dr. Everett, "family" physician. They drink, they dance, they fall in lust and in love. They don't even know who the enemy is, only that it is powerful enough to order the all-too-willing vice squad to destroy the bar and their lives.
Would these women and men still have family, a job, a place to live after...The Raid?
This was how it was done then, this was the gay life, and this is the resilient gay will.
Toothpick House by Lee Lynch is a romance set against the backdrop of the women’s lib movement in the 1970s.
Annie Heaphy is a young butch who makes ends meet by driving a cab in New Haven, Connecticut. She lives in a little shack on the beach, hangs out with her lesbian friends whenever she can, and generally loves her life as long as she can avoid the privileged kids who go to Yale.
Despite her aversion to “Yalies,” Annie’s life is turned upside down when she meets one at a gay bar in New York City and sees her again in New Haven. Victoria Locke is everything Annie would normally avoid, and yet she can’t seem to help herself as she and Victoria fall deeply in love.
The Characters
Annie is a giant walking ball of emotions and I just love her. She knows exactly who she is and what she wants out of life and isn’t afraid to say it to anyone. Despite her bluster and bravado, when she falls for Victoria, she falls hard and it’s very sweet.
Some of the story is told from Victoria’s perspective, letting us see what she’s going through as Annie comes into her life. Victoria doesn’t seem to realize that being a lesbian is an option until two of her friends decide to try having a sexual relationship with each other, with Annie being the final catalyst to recognizing and embracing her sexual identity.
Although Toothpick House isn’t part of a series (if Goodreads and Amazon are to be believed), many of its characters will show up in later books by Lee Lynch. Given how much I enjoyed this one, I’m looking forward to reading all their other stories!
The Writing Style
Toothpick House is Lee Lynch’s first book, and while it may not be quite as crisp as The Swashbuckler or as masterful as Rainbow Gap, it’s still beautifully written. There’s so much passion in it, whether between Annie and Victoria or the desire for change that sweeps them and their friends into the feminist movement, making it a difficult book to put down.
The Pros
Everything? Also, it’s really reasonably priced!
The Cons
None.
The Conclusion
I really enjoyed Toothpick House and would happily recommend it to anyone, especially if you usually read contemporary books and want to shake things up a bit.
