Examining the development of lesbian writing in English across the twentieth Century, Abraham identifies a shift from the "romance" model to a more complicated "history" model.

Examining the development of lesbian writing in English across the twentieth Century, Abraham identifies a shift from the "romance" model to a more complicated "history" model. The great modernists, Woolf and Stein, as well as the popular writers of succeeding generations, like Mary Renault, looked to historical narratives, creating an important change in the way the "lesbian story" is built. The changes in lesbian writing, from the early romance plots through to the post-1960's liberation movement experiments, are Abraham's geography. Within it, she offers detailed readings of major writers in several genres, from high modern to pulp, both British and American. Writers discussed include Virginia Woolf, Gertrude Stein, Djuna Barnes, Willa Cather and Mary Renault.