The Trials of Radclyffe Hall

Radclyffe Hall was born in 1880 in Bournemouth in a house inappropriately named 'Sunny Lawn'. Her mother drank gin in an attempt to terminate the pregnancy, and her father fled the family home.

At the mercy of a violent mother and sexually abusive stepfather, her life changed when at the age of eighteen she inherited her father's estate of 100,000. She was free to travel, pursue women and write - most notably The Well of Loneliness, her famous novel about 'congenital inverts', which was declared 'inherently obscene' by the Home Secretary and banned.

In this brilliantly written, witty and satirical biography Diana Souhami brings a fresh and irreverent eye to the life of this intriguing and troubled woman.

Winner of Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Biography and Autobiography 2000
Short-listed for James Tait Black Memorial Prize (Biography) 1998

“'Ye Gods what a character. From start to finish of Souhami's book my lower jaw kept dropping with amazement' Val Hennessey, Daily Mail.”

Daily Mail
'An outrageously entertaining book' Victoria Glendenning, Daily Telegraph. Daily Telegraph
'This reviewer found herself engrossed from page one. Carried along at breakneck speed by the pace and wit of Souhami's style. Fascinating and frightening, a magnificent book' Teresa Waugh, Spectator. Spectator

Diana Souhami is the author of Selkirk's Island (winner of the Whitbread Biography award), the bestselling Mrs Keppel and Her Daughter (also winner of the Lambda Literary Award and a New York Times 'Notable Book of the Year'). Her latest book is Murder at Wrotham Hill. She lives in London and Devon.

Radclyffe Hall is most famous for The Well of Loneliness, her landmark novel about lesbian love. It became a cause c

Radclyffe Hall was born in 1880 in Bournemouth in a house inappropriately named 'Sunny Lawn'. Her mother drank gin in an attempt to terminate the pregnancy, and her father fled the family home. At the mercy of a violent mother and sexually abusive stepfather, her life changed when at the age of eighteen she inherited her father's estate of 100,000. She was free to travel, pursue women and write - most notably The Well of Loneliness, her famous novel about 'congenital inverts', which was declared 'inherently obscene' by the Home Secretary and banned. In this brilliantly written, witty and satirical biography Diana Souhami brings a fresh and irreverent eye to the life of this intriguing and troubled woman.

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