The Charioteer

ISBN: 0375714189

Author: Renault, Mary

Condition: New

After enduring an injury at Dunkirk during World War II, Laurie Odell is sent to a rural veterans hospital in England to convalesce. There he befriends the young, bright Andrew, a conscientious objector serving as an orderly. As they find solace and companionship together in the idyllic surroundings of the hospital, their friendship blooms into a discreet, chaste romance. Then one day, Ralph Lanyon, a mentor from Lauries schoolboy days, suddenly reappears in Lauries life, and draws him into a tight-knit social circle of world-weary gay men. Laurie is forced to choose between the sweet ideals of innocence and the distinct pleasures of experience.Originally published in the United States in 1959, The Charioteer is a bold, unapologetic portrayal of male homosexuality during World War II that stands with Gore Vidals The City and the Pillar and Christopher Isherwoods Berlin Stories as a monumental work in gay literature.