LGBT People of History 17 - Marguerite Radclyffe-Hall

Marguerite Radclyffe-Hall (1880 – 1943) was born in England. Her parents were distant and she had a lonely childhood. She described herself as a ‘congenital invert’.

She was a lesbian and had many affairs and relationships during her life. In 1907 she fell in love with Mabel Batten who was much older than Hall. They set up house together until 1916 when Batten died. Hall then fell in love with Una Troubridge, a cousin of Batten, and they then lived together. This relationship lasted until Hall died but was complicated by the fact that Troubridge had to tolerate a further relationship Hall had with Evguenia Souline. Hall also had numerous other affairs.

She was a novelist and writer of poetry winning many awards. Her most well-known work is ‘The Well of Loneliness’ (1928). This book has obvious lesbian references and argues for tolerance. It was subject to an obscenity trial, the result of which was that all copies of the book were destroyed. It is now one of the most popular lesbian and gay novels of all time.

Due to this ‘scandal’ she then concentrated on more religious and spiritual writings in later life.

Ian and Callum.

Thanks to Wikipedia.

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