The Invisible Glass by WAHL, Loren - 1950

Hardback, no dust jacket, spine a little slanted, water spots on back cover, corners starting to fray, frayed spot on bottom back cover edge, some water spots on outside edges of pages, pages a little yellowed, text clean

New York: Greenberg, 1950. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. First edition. Octavo. Spine-lettering a bit rubbed, else very good or better in rubbed very good dustwrapper. Like John Horne Burns' *The Gallery*, *The Invisible Glass* is set among American service personnel serving in Italy during World War II. A doomed love story which breaks three taboos: love between men, love across the racial divide, and love between an officer and an enlisted man. Contemporary critics were dismissive of the novel's gay content, preferring instead to commend it (where they commended it at all) for its sympathetic and insightful handling of the role played by black servicemen during the war. A scarce title, one much more candid in its treatment of homosexuality than *The Gallery*, which it resembles. Slide, *Lost Gay Novels*, p. 46.

New York: Greenberg, 1950. Hardcover. Near Fine/Very Good. First edition. Octavo. Slight bumping and wear to spine ends, else about fine in rubbed and price-clipped very good dustwrapper with a few small nicks and tears. Laid in is a Typed Letter Signed ("Loren Wahl") to Dr. Noel J. Cortes dated in 1951, responding to Cortes' inquiry of the publisher inquiring about purchasing the manuscript of this novel; Wahl offers to discuss it with him. Wahl published a second novel in 1959, *Confetti For Gino*, under the name Lorenzo Madalena. Like John Horne Burns' *The Gallery*, *The Invisible Glass* is set among American service personnel serving in Italy during World War II. A doomed love story which breaks three taboos: love between men, love across the racial divide, and love between an officer and an enlisted man. Contemporary critics were dismissive of the novel's gay content, preferring instead to commend it (where they commended it at all) for its sympathetic and insightful handling of the role… Read More