Twixt Earth and Stars

By Radclyffe Hall

This early work by Radclyffe Hall was originally published in 1906 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'Twixt Earth and Stars' is a collection of poems that include 'In a Garden', 'Drifting', 'A Memory', and many more. Marguerite Radclyffe Hall was born on 12th August 1880, in Bournemouth, England. Hall's first novel The Unlit Lamp (1924) was a lengthy and grim tale that proved hard to sell. It was only published following the success of the much lighter social comedy The Forge (1924), which made the best-seller list of John O'London's Weekly. Hall is a key figure in lesbian literature for her novel The Well of Loneliness (1928). This is her only work with overt lesbian themes and tells the story of the life of a masculine lesbian named Stephen Gordon.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Read Books Ltd.
• Release date: May 6, 2015
• ISBN: 9781473396050

Radclyffe Hall

Radclyffe Hall (1880-1943) was an English poet and novelist. Born to a wealthy English father and an American mother in Bournemouth, Hampshire, Hall was left a sizeable fortune following her parents’ separation in 1882. Raised in a troubled environment, Hall struggled to gain financial independence from her mother and stepfather. As she took control of her inheritance, Hall began dressing in men’s clothing and identifying herself as a “congenital invert.” In 1907, she began a relationship with amateur singer Mabel Batten, who encouraged Hall to pursue a career in literature. By 1917, she had fallen in love with sculptor Una Troubridge, a cousin of Batten’s. After several poetry collections, Hall’s second novel The Unlit Lamp (1924) was published, becoming a bestseller shortly thereafter. Adam’s Breed (1926), a novel about an Italian waiter who abandons modern life, earned Hall the Prix Femina and the James Tait Black Prize, two of the most prestigious awards in world literature. In 1928, Hall’s sixth novel, The Well of Loneliness, was published to widespread controversy for its depiction of lesbian romance. While an obscenity trial in the United Kingdom led to an order that all copies of the novel be destroyed, a lengthy trial in the United States eventually allowed the book’s publication. Recognized as a pioneering figure in lesbian literature, Hall lived in London with Una Troubridge until her death at the age of sixty-three.

Book preview

say.

IN A GARDEN

IN the garden a thousand roses,

A vine of jessamine flower,

Sweetpeas in coquettish poses,

Sweetbrier with its fragrant dower.

There are hollyhocks tall and slender,

And marigolds gay and fair,

And sunflowers in glowing splendour,

Geraniums rich and rare;

And the wee, white, innocent daisy,

Half hidden amid the lawn;

A bee grown drowsy and lazy—

On honey he’s drunk since dawn—

Is reposing with wings extended

On some soft, passionate rose,

Aglow with a blush more splendid

Than ever a fair cheek knows.

While a thrush, in the ivy swinging

That clusters over the gate,

Athrob with the spring is singing,

And ardently calls his mate.

For the spirit of all sweet odours

The soul of a June unborn

Has hallowed my humble garden,

And whispered to me since dawn.

And the flowers in a prayer of rapture,

Bent low to that spell divine,

Are wafting their sweetest incense

In clouds, at his sunlit shrine.

IF YOU WERE A ROSE AND I WERE

THE SUN

(Song)

IF you were a Rose and I were the Sun

What then, little girl, what