The Girls in 3B

By Valerie Taylor

This “remarkable slice of bohemia from the 1950s . . . weaves a wondrous tale of love, lesbianism, poetry, and sex” (Jack Halberstam, author of Female Masculinity).
 
Annice, Pat, and Barby are best friends from Iowa, freshly arrived in booming 1950s Chicago to explore different paths toward independence, self-expression, and sexual freedom. From the hip-hang of a bohemian lifestyle to the sophisticated lure of romance with a handsome, wealthy, married boss to the happier security of a lesbian relationship, these three experience firsthand the dangers and limitations of women’s economic reliance on men. Lesbian pulp author Valerie Taylor skillfully paints a sociological portrait of the emotional and economic pitfalls of heterosexuality in 1950s America—and then offers a defiantly subversive alternative. A classic pulp tale showcasing predatory beatnik men, drug hallucinations, and secret lesbian trysts, The Girls in 3-B approaches the theme of sex from the stiffened vantage point of 1950s psychology.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Oct 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781558617629

Valerie Taylor

Valerie Taylor was born and raised in Stamford, Connecticut. She had a thirty-year career in the financial services industry as a marketer and writer. After her divorce, she spread her wings and relocated her career, first to Boston and then to Seattle. When she retired, she resettled in Shelton, Connecticut, to be near her two grown children and granddaughter. She’s a published book reviewer with BookTrib.com; and a member of the Westport Writers’ Workshop, the Independent Book Publishers Association, and the Women's Fiction Writers Association. She enjoys practicing tai chi and being an expert sports spectator. What’s Not Said was her debut novel, followed by the sequel, What’s Not True in 2021. The final book in the trilogy, What’s Not Lost, launches in February 2023.

Reviews for The Girls in 3B

[lweddle_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"It was a simple story, Ilene Gordon said laughing. She lived in an apartment on the North Side - she named the neighborhood, and Barby recognized it as a very good neighborhood indeed, far better than her own. She had been sharing it with another girl, who was moving out in a few weeks. 'She's being married. I'm not sure what I'll do then, but anyway, it will work out.'Barby tried to imagine a mariage that would be better than sharing an apartment with Ilene Gordon..."A fun read. A little risque... people look at you a little funny if you read it on the bus. I suggest a bookcover, unless you enjoy shocking the suburbans. Well written for a pulp novel, though I suppose it's one of the reasons that The Feminist Press decided to reprint it. Also, out of the three girls of the title, the lesbian ends up with the happiest story. (yay!) It makes me want to take another turn through the early lesbian novels... maybe the Beebo Brinker stories, or maybe the pulp novel Women's Barracks (sounds promising!)