If lesbianism were accepted as just another way of loving—and if lesbian writers were not always taken in a sexual context—[Lesbian Images] would not be necessary, the author notes. A teacher, writer, feminist, and lesbian, Rule examines love between women in the work of 12 female authors (Radclyffe Hall, Gertrude Stein, Willa Cather, Vita Sackville-West, Ivy Compton-Burnett, Elizabeth Bowen, Colette, Violette Leduc, Margaret Anderson, Dorothy Baker, May Sarton, Maureen Duffy). Fluent and nonjudgmental, she considers to what extent the art of these women reflects their personal lives as well as their society…. This book should not be considered just a literary examination of one narrow facet of life; for beyond its insight into lesbianism, it offers an expanded view of women in our culture, and its value increases for that.

Michele M. Leber, "An Expanded View of Women in Our Culture," in Library Journal (reprinted from Library...