Outlaw Marriages: The Hidden Histories of Fifteen Extraordinary Same-Sex Couples

For more than a century before gay marriage became a hot-button political issue, same-sex unions flourished in America. Pairs of men and pairs of women joined together in committed unions, standing by each other “for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health” for periods of thirty or forty—sometimes as many as fifty—years. In short, they loved and supported each other every bit as much as any husband and wife. In Outlaw Marriages, cultural historian Rodger Streitmatter reveals how some of these unions didn’t merely improve the quality of life for the two people involved but also enriched the American culture. Contents: Walt Whitman & Peter Doyle Martha Carey Thomas & Mamie Swinn Ned Warren & John Marshall Mary Rozet Smith & Jane Addams Bessie Marbury & Esie de Wolfe J.C. Leyendecker & Charles Beach Alice B. Toklas & Gertrude Stein Janet Flanner & Solita Solano Greta Garbo & Mercedes de Acosta Aaron Copland & Victor Kraft Frank Merlo & Tennessee Williams James Baldwin & Lucien Happersberg Robert Rauschenberg & Jasper Johns Ismail Merchant & James Ivory Frances Clayton & Audre Lorde