Tottie: A Tale of the Sixties

by Sarah Aldridge

Amid the turmoil of the 60s, Connie, a young lawyer encounters the invisible obstacles that stand in the way of women in her profession. Engaged to be married, things change when she meets Tottie, a runaway from a Conservative family who joins the rebellious underground.

Genres: LGBT, Fiction, Queer, Lesbian

Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Sarah Aldridge was the pen name of Anyda Marchant, attorney, publisher and novelist. Marchant was born Anne Nelson Yarborough De Armond Marchant in Rio de Janeiro and moved with her family to Washington at 6. She called herself Anyda, using the initials from her long name. She graduated and received a law degree in 1936 from the old National University law school, now part of George Washington University. She spent almost forty years of her working life in New York City and Washington, D.C. as a lawyer in both public and private practice.

Upon retiring in 1972, she began a career as a writer and publisher. She originated the Naiad Press and was co-founder (along with Barbara Grier, Donna McBride and Muriel Crawford) when it was incorporated in 1974. In 1995 she and her lifelong companion Muriel Crawford withdrew as co-owners of the Naiad Press and founded a new publishing venture, A&M Books. Naiad published the first eleven Sarah Aldridge novels and A&M Books published the last three. Her final novel, Oh Mistress Mine was released when the author was 92. In January 2006, Anyda Marchant passed away, two weeks shy of her 95th birthday. Her life partner of 57 years, Muriel Crawford, followed her in death only four months later.

A literary icon in the world of lesbian/feminist publishing, Anyda Marchant as Sarah Aldridge provided some of the first novels to have both lesbian protagonists and happy endings. All of her fourteen classic novels are still in print and available for purchase. As a lasting tribute to her vast and varied contributions to lesbian literature and publishing, Sarah Aldridge was awarded the Golden Crown Literary Society Trailblazer Award posthumously in June 2007.

Reviews

[Mel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this better than I did. I started it last week thinking I'd read it in a day but it just dragged. I was hoping for a book about interesting 60s counter culture and how lesbians were in that scene. But unfortunately that was not the case. The main character in this book was a lawyer who was the definition of square. Instead of meeting an interesting 60s hippie who expanded her mind she met a runaway heiress who reinforced all the stereotypes of counter culture types being heroin addicts and violent terrorists!

The book involved one character hiding out in the other's apartment and the two of them having conversations and fights. I'm afraid the characterisation just wasn't very believable. How could they instantly fall in love when they had nothing in common. Why did Tottie suddenly trust Connie above all else? Why was Connie so quick to discard her career and her fiance? The ending felt quite clichéd and false.

I really wanted to like this book as the author sounded really great. I really like early lesbian pulp because the books are just so honest and the emotions so raw. This was unfortunately the opposite of that. I don't think I will be reading any more by this author.

[Arlene Hazelkorn · Rating 1 out of 5]

It dragged on. Tottie was just a female version of Roger. Don’t know why it is called “A Tale of the 60s”. Many typos.