Book 1: Chapters 1-5 Summary

This is a highly controversial novel that was banned upon its publication in 1928. It is a novel that addresses the issues of homosexuality from the point of view of a lesbian, creating characters who are sympathetic, the main reason the book was not accepted by the author's contemporaries and society as a whole.

In chapter one, Sir Philip and Lady Anna Gordon are expecting their first child after ten years of marriage. Sir Philip is so convinced the child will be a boy that he begins referring to it as Stephen almost from the moment of conception. When the child is born a girl, Sir Philip insists that they call it Stephen anyway because he is so used to the name. No more children will be born to Sir Philip and Lady Anna. Not only this, but Lady Anna...