Gay mysteries, and Murder at the Nightwood Bar

Murder at the Nightwood Bar by Katherine V Forrest

 published 1987

 

1909, not 1987

Reading June Thomas’s book  A Place of Our Own, about aspects of lesbian life at the end of the 20^th century, inspired me to go back to some of the gay crime stories that were finally available in the 1980s and 90s – maybe there were a few before then, but they were not widely available. When I interviewed June for the earlier post, I asked her ‘Are there still gay mysteries? Is it just that I don’t see them?’

She agreed that they were not so prevalent now - gay investigators are around, it’s not a big deal, but the mysteries tend not to be set in gay communities.

One of the most fascinating chapters in her book deals with the rural communes set up by separatist lesbians, and we agreed that there should be a murder story set amongst the landdykes. There would be almost too many angry people, too many potential victims and culprits. (The Scottish author Val McDermid did write Common Murder in 1989 – about death at a women’s peace camp, one loosely based on the real-life Greenham Common.)

Barbara Wilson featured recently here (Murder in the Collective) – she wrote excellent lesbian-themed crime stories, but June told me there was a feeling of restraint. It was seen as important then not to portray the community in a bad light –murders might be going to show people up. I suppose it could be limiting in terms of guilty parties and motives? That’s a conflict that may have been resolved, it’s hard to imagine that particular worry now.

Back to the 1980s for today’s book – Murder at the Nightwood Bar by Katherine V Forrest the second one about a lesbian LA police detective, Kate Delafield (see post on the first in the series here) – and it might have been written to match June’s framework (and what a great, enticing title).

The women in the opening scenes have been playing baseball in the park, then come back to the lesbian bar to drink and chat. Just like the real people in June’s book. The detective thinks the women’s bar is the most wonderful place in the world, something she could have done with earlier.

Late on, we have this;

“Bookstores,” said a tall dark woman Kate did not know. “I found a whole gay world through all the stuff I found in feminist bookstores.”

-       Again, straight out of June’s playbook.

It’s a proper crime story, with patient investigation by Kate and her male (and moderately unreconstructed) partner Taylor. A young woman who’d been living in a van in the bar’s carpark, is found murdered. Hate crime, a discarded lover, a vengeful person from her past? Her story takes some unravelling and, honestly, isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s a sad story, but the grim telling is very good.

On a lighter note -

He swung around to his credenza, poured pale yellow liquid from a crystal pitcher into a matching crystal glass. ‘Pineapple juice,’ he explained…..Taylor’s arms were crossed; he was eyeing three silver sailing trophies on Koerner’s credenza.

#FurnitureWatch! A matter discussed at length in the post on the first Forrest book

For contrast with modern times, the wonderful Paris Lesbian bar in 1909 is from Wikimedia Commons, by Edouard Tourain, and was apparently a magazine illustration for a Colette story.

Self-portait by the painter Anna Zinkeisen, whom I thought had a look of a patron of the Nightwood Bar. She and her sister Dora were busy creative people in the first half of the 20^th century, and their story is well worth looking up – there’s an excellent summary here.

For the 1980s I went for knitting patterns, and the Old Ralph Lauren Adverts Tumbler.