Tormented Virgin

Originally published in 1962, John D. Keefauver's Tormented Virgin is one of a thousand pulp novels that sought to entice readers with a salacious story. The novel follows Gene through his romance with the young and attractive Faye, as well as his attraction to Mickey--the lesbian who is attempting to seduce Faye--and also Mark, his own best friend. This confusion of gender and attraction creates a subversively queer milieu for a novel. Keefauver's novel is not only emblematic of mid-20th-century mainstream society's view of bisexuality, but a growing awareness of sexual energy and the struggle of queer individuals in a ''new America.'' Lethe Press is proud to release this pulp novel, rescued from literary oblivion primarily for its provocative character, with a foreword by scholar Lee Mandelo and an afterword by author Scott Nicolay. Featuring new artwork by modern pulp master James O'Barr.

Brit Mandelo is a writer, critic, and editor whose primary fields of interest are speculative fiction and queer literature, especially when the two coincide. They have two books out, Beyond Binary: Genderqueer and Sexually Fluid Speculative Fiction and We Wuz Pushed: On Joanna Russ and Radical Truth-telling, and in the past have edited for publications like Strange Horizons Magazine. Other work has been featured in magazines such as Stone Telling, Clarkesworld, Apex, and Ideomancer. They also write regularly for Tor.com and have several long-running column series there, including Queering SFF, a mix of criticism, editorials, and reviews on QUILTBAG speculative fiction.