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Two College Friends
Two College Friends
A wartime coming-of-age tale that follows two college friends through love, loyalty, and danger. The story blends college life, a thoughtful professor, and soldiers’ letters as seen through a young man’s inner reflections.
In a campus and hospital setting, a devoted student wrestles with friendship, honor, and the pull of duty as war closes in. Through intimate notes and a forged bond between the boys, the narrative explores how courage and affection endure in the face of fear and loss.
The book uses a shifting lens—from classroom lectures to the chaos of the battlefield—to examine what a friendship endures when life itself is at stake.
Character-driven scenes that juxtapose scholarly life with frontline danger A professor who mentors with warmth and wit, shaping the men’s choices Intimate diary-like passages that reveal doubt, devotion, and resilience Themes of patriotism, sacrifice, and the costs of friendship during war Ideal for readers drawn to literary fiction that pairs emotional depth with historical backdrop.
A wartime coming-of-age tale that follows two college friends through love, loyalty, and danger. The story blends college life, a thoughtful professor, and soldiers’ letters as seen through a young man’s inner reflections.
In a campus and hospital setting, a devoted student wrestles with friendship, honor, and the pull of duty as war closes in. Through intimate notes and a forged bond between the boys, the narrative explores how courage and affection endure in the face of fear and loss.
The book uses a shifting lens—from classroom lectures to the chaos of the battlefield—to examine what a friendship endures when life itself is at stake.
Character-driven scenes that juxtapose scholarly life with frontline danger A professor who mentors with warmth and wit, shaping the men’s choices Intimate diary-like passages that reveal doubt, devotion, and resilience Themes of patriotism, sacrifice, and the costs of friendship during war Ideal for readers drawn to literary fiction that pairs emotional depth with historical backdrop.
168 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1871
About the author
Frederic W. Loring
5 books1 followerFrederic Wadsworth Loring (December 12, 1848 – November 5, 1871) was an American journalist, novelist and poet.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 7, 2025
Frederick W. Loring is a long forgotten American author about as obscure as they come. His novel ‘Two College Friends’ (published in 1871) narrates a beautiful story of romantic friendship between two young men and an elderly professor.
Lost for over a century, Loring’s novel was only rediscovered in 1996 by the historian Douglas Shand-Tucci who republished it in the anthology: The Romantic Friendship Reader: Love Stories between Men in Victorian America (Northeastern University Press, 2003). Loring was himself only a young man when he met his own untimely death at the age of 21. He was tragically killed by a band of Apaches while travelling to Arizona.
After reading a copy of Loring’s novel online, I was greatly impressed with its frank portrayal of love between the two young men, especially from a book published during the ‘Victorian’ period, an era particularly known for its prudence. What was even more surprising was the sympathetic Professor who ardently loved the two friends before they volunteered for the Civil War. Loring paints an exceptionally warm and daring picture of an older homosexual man – rare even in modern gay literature.
The novel revolves around two central characters called Ned and Tom. Ned is an orphan of the impetuous and insecure type, while Tom is serene and very handsome. It appears everybody in the novel is aware of Tom’s beauty, even the battle weary republican General Stonewall Jackson bizarrely comments on his good looks later in the book.
Ned is very much in love with Tom, and of course, Tom is devoted to Ned. The old professor is in love with them both and he has their photo on his desk. His most prized possession. A long time ago the professor had fallen in love with a young woman, but after being rejected, he resigned himself to a bachelor lifestyle and to teaching with its dull routine. The young woman in question was Tom’s mother, and after discovering this the professor takes a keen and queer interest in both boys.
While at Harvard the American Civil War begins and Ned enlists as an officer. The professor persuades Tom’s mother to let him sign up too, so the boys can stay together. Their experiences are recalled intermittently in Ned’s journal entries. In one sentimental scene we read how Tom nurses Ned through a terrible fever and stays with him during his leave period. Although he is homesick and hasn’t seen his mother for over a year, he remains at the hospital to care for his beloved friend.
Later in the novel there is a campaign to destroy an enemy bridge and Ned and his men are captured by the formidable general, Stonewell Jackson. After a long discussion Jackson finds he respects and admires Ned’s straightforward, frank attitude. He allows Ned (on his honour not to escape) to stay the night with his sick friend by the water’s edge. As Ned is bathing Tom to ease his temperature, his guard comments: ‘you care for him as you would a gal, don’t you?’ He continues ‘well, he’s poutier than any gal I ever see anywhar’. The guard explains how Ned had given him fruit and Jelly at the hospital even though he was from the enemy camp. The guard wants to return the favour and allows Ned to escape down the river with his sick friend on the boat. Ned takes Tom to safety and returns honourably to the camp the following day to report to the General. Ned explains to General Jackson how Tom is his world. The General admires the fact he returned to face his fate. However Ned is briefed he will be shot at sunrise. They shake hands and Ned is led to a quiet room with writing material to put his affairs in order. He writes a beautiful heart-wrenching letter to the professor and says his farewells. In the morning he is executed, and the novel forward many years to its conclusion. The professor never recovers from Ned’s untimely death and becomes an angry, distant and ruthless pedant. Tom marries and his wife names their first born son after Tom’s soulmate.
Lost for over a century, Loring’s novel was only rediscovered in 1996 by the historian Douglas Shand-Tucci who republished it in the anthology: The Romantic Friendship Reader: Love Stories between Men in Victorian America (Northeastern University Press, 2003). Loring was himself only a young man when he met his own untimely death at the age of 21. He was tragically killed by a band of Apaches while travelling to Arizona.
After reading a copy of Loring’s novel online, I was greatly impressed with its frank portrayal of love between the two young men, especially from a book published during the ‘Victorian’ period, an era particularly known for its prudence. What was even more surprising was the sympathetic Professor who ardently loved the two friends before they volunteered for the Civil War. Loring paints an exceptionally warm and daring picture of an older homosexual man – rare even in modern gay literature.
The novel revolves around two central characters called Ned and Tom. Ned is an orphan of the impetuous and insecure type, while Tom is serene and very handsome. It appears everybody in the novel is aware of Tom’s beauty, even the battle weary republican General Stonewall Jackson bizarrely comments on his good looks later in the book.
Ned is very much in love with Tom, and of course, Tom is devoted to Ned. The old professor is in love with them both and he has their photo on his desk. His most prized possession. A long time ago the professor had fallen in love with a young woman, but after being rejected, he resigned himself to a bachelor lifestyle and to teaching with its dull routine. The young woman in question was Tom’s mother, and after discovering this the professor takes a keen and queer interest in both boys.
While at Harvard the American Civil War begins and Ned enlists as an officer. The professor persuades Tom’s mother to let him sign up too, so the boys can stay together. Their experiences are recalled intermittently in Ned’s journal entries. In one sentimental scene we read how Tom nurses Ned through a terrible fever and stays with him during his leave period. Although he is homesick and hasn’t seen his mother for over a year, he remains at the hospital to care for his beloved friend.
Later in the novel there is a campaign to destroy an enemy bridge and Ned and his men are captured by the formidable general, Stonewell Jackson. After a long discussion Jackson finds he respects and admires Ned’s straightforward, frank attitude. He allows Ned (on his honour not to escape) to stay the night with his sick friend by the water’s edge. As Ned is bathing Tom to ease his temperature, his guard comments: ‘you care for him as you would a gal, don’t you?’ He continues ‘well, he’s poutier than any gal I ever see anywhar’. The guard explains how Ned had given him fruit and Jelly at the hospital even though he was from the enemy camp. The guard wants to return the favour and allows Ned to escape down the river with his sick friend on the boat. Ned takes Tom to safety and returns honourably to the camp the following day to report to the General. Ned explains to General Jackson how Tom is his world. The General admires the fact he returned to face his fate. However Ned is briefed he will be shot at sunrise. They shake hands and Ned is led to a quiet room with writing material to put his affairs in order. He writes a beautiful heart-wrenching letter to the professor and says his farewells. In the morning he is executed, and the novel forward many years to its conclusion. The professor never recovers from Ned’s untimely death and becomes an angry, distant and ruthless pedant. Tom marries and his wife names their first born son after Tom’s soulmate.
December 28, 2019
This one left me hanging like "When I am dead, I am dead."
July 10, 2023
Oddly disjointed and abrupt, as if the author were unused to reading novels, yet decided to write one.
While it's possibly to read into this a gay romance, it's also highly probable the authors (and characters) would be shocked by such a reading. Theirs is a pure, platonic love, the love of a handsome face and high ideals, and nowhere is it written that they get down and dirty, so if you're hoping for an unexpectedly early out-and-out gay romance, you won't find it here. There's some unconscious face kissing, but that could easily be a peck on the forehead of the ailing person. Who knows? The author doesn't tell us.
That said, something's going on. The characters are abnormally (compared to other characters in other books of the period, not meaning anything derogatory!) into one other. It's just not explicit. It's like how I knew Charles Nelson Reilly was gay on Match Game, but that didn't make the game show an unexpected early predecessor of Queer as Folk.
Ultimately, though, it wasn't a particularly interesting book, the characters were flat (and odd), and the bulk of the story is actually a war story (I hate war) and it's one of those achingly annoying war stories where people put Honour above all else, yuck.
So I pretty much didn't like this one, and only read it for curiousity's sake. On the plus side, it's short, just a novella.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful.)
While it's possibly to read into this a gay romance, it's also highly probable the authors (and characters) would be shocked by such a reading. Theirs is a pure, platonic love, the love of a handsome face and high ideals, and nowhere is it written that they get down and dirty, so if you're hoping for an unexpectedly early out-and-out gay romance, you won't find it here. There's some unconscious face kissing, but that could easily be a peck on the forehead of the ailing person. Who knows? The author doesn't tell us.
That said, something's going on. The characters are abnormally (compared to other characters in other books of the period, not meaning anything derogatory!) into one other. It's just not explicit. It's like how I knew Charles Nelson Reilly was gay on Match Game, but that didn't make the game show an unexpected early predecessor of Queer as Folk.
Ultimately, though, it wasn't a particularly interesting book, the characters were flat (and odd), and the bulk of the story is actually a war story (I hate war) and it's one of those achingly annoying war stories where people put Honour above all else, yuck.
So I pretty much didn't like this one, and only read it for curiousity's sake. On the plus side, it's short, just a novella.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful.)
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews