A Marriage Below Zero

by Alan Dale, Mint Editions (Contribution by)

Overview

A Marriage Below Zero (1889) is a novel by Alan Dale. Recognized as one of the first English language novels to openly depict homosexuality, the novel is a poignant study of the institution of marriage and the policing of desire in Victorian England. Rejected by contemporary critics as “unconventional” for its depiction of “monstrous forms of human voice,” A Marriage Below Zero would later earn Dale a reputation as a pioneering author whose exploration of homosexual romance, however tragic its consequences, set the stage for generations of artists to come. “He reddened slightly. ‘Captain Dillington always enjoys himself,’ he said quietly. ‘He is very happy in society." […] ‘How rarely you find two really sincere friends,’ I remarked, rather sentimentally. ‘The present time seems to be wonderfully unsuited to such a tie.’ ‘That is true’—very laconically. ‘I think there is nothing so beautiful as friendship,’ I went on, with persistence. ‘You have heard of Damon and Pythias,’ he said quickly, reading me like a book. I blushed deeply and was then furiously angry with myself. ‘I don't mind,’ he went on. ‘Make all the fun of us you like.’” Referring to the ancient Greek story of Damon and Pythias, whose names became synonymous with ideal male friendship, Elsie shows herself to be rather naïve regarding the nature of Arthur Ravener’s relationship with Captain Dillington. Despite this lack of clarity, Elsie Bouverie finds herself attracted to the handsome young man, and soon they are married. As she begins to grow suspicious about his sexual appetites, she hires a private investigator to follow the two friends, unwittingly welcoming tragedy into their lives. This edition of Alan Dale’s A Marriage Below Zero is a classic work of British literature reimagined for modern readers.

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Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781513208756
Publisher:	Mint Editions
Publication date:	08/10/2021
Series:	Mint Editions (Reading With Pride)
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Alan Dale (1861-1928) was an English theatre critic, playwright, and novelist. Born Alfred J. Cohen in Birmingham, England, Dale moved to New York in 1887 and found work as a prominent theatre critic for the New York Evening World, New York Journal, and New York American, three prominent daily newspapers of the nineteenth century. Controversial for his frequently critical, often harsh reviews, Dale was a hit with readers and publishers while alienating himself from the theatre world. In addition to his criticism, he wrote four novels, including A Marriage Below Zero (1889), which is considered one of the earliest representations of homosexual romance in mainstream English literature.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Same-Sex Scandal in Nineteenth-Century Britain: A Brief Chronology
Alfred J. Cohen: A Brief Chronology
A Note on the Text

A Marriage Below Zero

Appendix A: Contemporary Reviews

1. From The New York World (26 February 1889)
2. From The New York World (22 March 1889)
3. From The New York World (25 March 1889)
4. From The New York Daily Graphic (5 April 1889)
5. From Sacramento Daily Record-Union (20 April 1889)
6. From Belford’s Magazine (June 1889)
7. From Countess Annie De Montaigu, “Hot and Sticky,” Los Angeles Times (11 August 1889)
8. From “Professional Reform,” The San Francisco News Dealer (September 1890)
9. From The Los Angeles Herald (21 February 1891)
10. From The Cincinnati Enquirer (5 March 1891)
11. From the Los Angeles Times (3 December 1891)

Appendix B: Two Nineteenth-Century Historical and Literary Instances of Same-Sex Coupledom

1. Charles Dickens, “A Visit to Newgate” (1836)
2. From Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina (1877)

Appendix C: Modes of Homosexual Exploration and Advocacy in Nineteenth-Century Britain

1. From Walter Pater, “Conclusion,” Studies in the History of the Renaissance (1873)
2. From John Addington Symonds, “Male Love,” A Problem in Greek Ethics and Other Writings (1883)
3. From Sir Richard Burton, “Pederasty,” in the “Terminal Essay” to The Book of a Thousand Nights and One Night (1885)
4. George Bernard Shaw, Letter on “The Cleveland Street Scandals,” Truth Magazine (26 November 1889)
5. From John Addington Symonds, The Memoirs of John Addington Symonds (1892)
6. From Charles Kains Jackson, “The New Chivalry,” The Artist and Journal of Home Culture (2 April 1894)
7. From Edward Carpenter, Homogenic Love, and Its Place in a Free Society (1894)
8. Alan Dale (Alfred J. Cohen), “A Word from the Author,” An Eerie He and She (1889)

Appendix D: Late-Victorian Legal and Medical Models and the New Social Panic

1. From Section 11 of the 1885 Criminal Amendment Bill
2. From Richard Krafft-Ebing, “Case 237,” Psychopathia Sexualis: A Medico-Forensic Study (1886)
3. “Sex-Mania,” Reynolds’s Newspaper (21 April 1895)
4. From Olive Schreiner, “The Woman Question,” Cosmopolitan Magazine (1889)

Select Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

A Marriage Below Zero is an invaluable edition of the first novel about homosexuality in English, edited by Richard Kaye, who rediscovered the 1889 text. Kaye’s erudite and entertaining introduction puts it in the context of the late-Victorian sensation novel, a doubly-closeted writer, and the social history of male same-sex relationships, plus a scandalous divorce trial. A fascinating selection of legal, literary, and psychological materials rounds off this splendid seminar in one volume.” — Elaine Showalter, Professor Emerita, Princeton University

“The Broadview Edition is excellent … For anyone with an interest in Victorian gender studies, this is the go-to edition.” — Times Literary Supplement

From the Publisher