{"product_id":"outlaw-marriages-isbn-9780807003428","title":"Outlaw Marriages","description":"\u003cb\u003eCelebrate LGBTQIA+ history with the untold stories of 15 prominent same-sex couples who defied cultural norms and made significant contributions to the arts, social change, and more.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e For more than a century before gay marriage became a hot-button political issue, same-sex unions flourished in America. Pairs of men and pairs of women joined together in committed unions, standing by each other “for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health” for periods of 30 or 40—sometimes as many as \u003ci\u003e50\u003c\/i\u003e—years. In short, they loved and supported each other every bit as much as any husband and wife.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In \u003ci\u003eOutlaw Marriages\u003c\/i\u003e, cultural historian Rodger Streitmatter reveals how some of these unions didn’t merely improve the quality of life for the 2 people involved but also enriched the American culture. Among the high-profile couples are:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e • Nobel Peace Prize winner \u003cb\u003eJane Addams \u003c\/b\u003eand \u003cb\u003eMary Rozet Smith\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e • Literary icon \u003cb\u003eGertrude Stein \u003c\/b\u003eand \u003cb\u003eAlice B. Toklas\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e • Author \u003cb\u003eJames Baldwin\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003eLucien Happersberger\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e • Artists \u003cb\u003eJasper Johns\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003eRobert Rauschenberg\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e• Legendary poet \u003cb\u003eWalt Whitman\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003ePeter Doyle\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e• Classic Hollywood star \u003cb\u003eGreta Garbo\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003eMercedes de Acosta\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e While no partnership is the same—some were tumultuous, while others were more supportive and long-lasting—all changed the course of American history.\u003cb\u003ePrologue\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eChapter 1\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWalt Whitman \u0026amp; Peter Doyle\u003cbr\u003e1865–1892\u003cbr\u003eRevolutionizing American Poetry\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eChapter 2\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMartha Carey Thomas \u0026amp; Mamie Gwinn\u003cbr\u003e1878–1904\u003cbr\u003eOpening Graduate Education to American Women\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eChapter 3\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNed Warren \u0026amp; John Marshall\u003cbr\u003e1884–1927\u003cbr\u003eBuilding the Collections of America’s Art Museums\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eChapter 4\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMary Rozet Smith \u0026amp; Jane Addams\u003cbr\u003e1891–1934\u003cbr\u003eBreaking New Ground in Social Reform and Global Peace\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eChapter 5\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBessie Marbury \u0026amp; Elsie de Wolfe\u003cbr\u003e1892–1933\u003cbr\u003eFounding the Field of Interior Design\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eChapter 6\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJ. C. Leyendecker \u0026amp; Charles Beach\u003cbr\u003e1901–1951\u003cbr\u003eTaking the Art of Illustration to a New Level\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eChapter 7\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlice B. Toklas \u0026amp; Gertrude Stein\u003cbr\u003e1907–1946\u003cbr\u003eExpanding the Dimensions of American Literature\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter 8\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJanet Flanner \u0026amp; Solita Solano\u003cbr\u003e1919–1975\u003cbr\u003ePioneering a New Style of Journalism\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eChapter 9\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGreta Garbo \u0026amp; Mercedes de Acosta\u003cbr\u003e1931–1960\u003cbr\u003eMaking Hollywood the Celebrity Capital of the World\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eChapter 10\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAaron Copland \u0026amp; Victor Kraft\u003cbr\u003e1932–1976\u003cbr\u003eInventing a Distinctly American Style of Music\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eChapter 11\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrank Merlo \u0026amp; Tennessee Williams\u003cbr\u003e1948–1963\u003cbr\u003eLifting American Theater to New Heights\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eChapter 12\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJames Baldwin \u0026amp; Lucien Happersberger\u003cbr\u003e1949–1987\u003cbr\u003eAttacking Racism through Literature\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eChapter 13\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRobert Rauschenberg \u0026amp; Jasper Johns\u003cbr\u003e1954–1962\u003cbr\u003eExpanding the Definition of Art\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eChapter 14\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIsmail Merchant \u0026amp; James Ivory\u003cbr\u003e1961–2005\u003cbr\u003eTurning Literary Works into Sumptuous Films\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eChapter 15\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrances Clayton \u0026amp; Audre Lorde\u003cbr\u003e1968–1988\u003cbr\u003eRaising a Voice for Women of Color\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eEpilogue\u003cbr\u003eAcknowledgments\u003cbr\u003eNotes\u003cbr\u003ePhotography\/Illustration Credits\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eOutlaw Marriages\u003c\/i\u003e gloriously outs same-sex couples through history and celebrates their love and impact in theater, arts, and social change. If you love the guilty pleasure of reading People magazine for your celebrity-couple news, you'll love this book. And the fact-checking is flawless!”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Kate Clinton, humorist\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The volume will have particular appeal to readers of gender studies, but these stories ultimately prove that true partnership is gender blind.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A thoroughly interesting look at gay and lesbian love, life and relationships.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eEDGE\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Fifteen love marriages that dared not speak their name defied laws and mores, flouted conventions, and live today in Streitmatter’s essential, well-documented history.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A nice gift for just the right couple.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“An engaging and well-researched volume with broad appeal to the LGBTQ crowd (especially couples) as well as social historians.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e—\u003c\/i\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cp\u003e“In \u003ci\u003eOutlaw Marriages\u003c\/i\u003e he distills a wealth of information down to a lively and effective series of double portraits.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e—The Gay and Lesbian Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“…Streitmatter expertly threads together the historical backgrounds and incredible courage of these couples… it’s a damn good bunch of stories told in a very approachable 160-ish pages.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e—The Stranger\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eRodger Streitmatter\u003c\/b\u003e, a former newspaper reporter, is a member of the School of Communication faculty at American University. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his husband, Tom Grooms.\u003cb\u003e\u003cu\u003eFrom the Prologue\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe couples who come to life in the following chapters were social insurgents.\u003cbr\u003eThat is, each pair of men and each pair of women defied the social order by\u003cbr\u003ecreating sub-rosa same-sex marriages long before such relationships were\u003cbr\u003elegally sanctioned.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTennessee Williams and Frank Merlo, for example, began their outlaw\u003cbr\u003emarriage in 1948—spending every day and night together, while loving and\u003cbr\u003esupporting each other to a degree fully comparable to that of any husband\u003cbr\u003eand wife. Their partnership continued until Merlo died of cancer in 1963.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eOutlaw Marriages\u003c\/i\u003e tells Williams and Merlo’s story, along with those of\u003cbr\u003efourteen other same-sex couples who combined their lives either as husband\u003cbr\u003eand husband or wife and wife during eras when no legal institution and no\u003cbr\u003echurch approved of such a union.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe other trait that these renegade couples have in common is that they all\u003cbr\u003efully qualify as, in a word,\u003ci\u003e extraordinary.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eIn many instances, that powerful adjective fits because of the remarkable\u003cbr\u003econtributions a particular couple made to the culture—the fields ranging\u003cbr\u003efrom literature to modern art to filmmaking. The achievements of other couples\u003cbr\u003einclude opening graduate education to American women and pioneering\u003cbr\u003ea new form of journalism in the pages of the\u003ci\u003e New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e magazine.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith Williams and Merlo, their gift was creating some of the most memorable\u003cbr\u003eplays in the history of American theater. Williams was addicted to\u003cbr\u003edrugs and promiscuity when he met the rock-solid Merlo. The World War\u003cbr\u003eII vet then saw to it that the playwright regained his emotional and physical\u003cbr\u003eequilibrium, allowing him to write such theatrical masterpieces as the\u003cbr\u003ePulitzer Prize–winning \u003ci\u003eCat on a Hot Tin Roof.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eA few of the other extraordinary contributions that unfold in this book are\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e• Walt Whitman and Peter Doyle reinventing American poetry\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e• Jane Addams and Mary Rozet Smith revolutionizing the field of social\u003cbr\u003ework\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e• Greta Garbo and Mercedes de Acosta taking the lead in transforming\u003cbr\u003eHollywood into the celebrity capital of the world\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen reading the statements above, you probably recognized only one of\u003cbr\u003ethe two names in the pairings. That’s because the achievements of one partner\u003cbr\u003eoften became widely known, while those of the other partner stayed\u003cbr\u003ehidden—until the publication of this book.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eOutlaw Marriages\u003c\/i\u003e is an apt title on two levels.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst, all fifteen couples created unions that defied the laws and mores\u003cbr\u003eof their day. Many of these de facto partnerships survived and thrived, despite\u003cbr\u003etheir lack of support by church or state, for thirty or forty years—in\u003cbr\u003esome cases\u003ci\u003e, fifty.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eSecond, these couples flouted convention. Aaron Copland was thirtytwo\u003cbr\u003eyears old when he met and instantly fell in love with a drop-dead gorgeous\u003cbr\u003eviolinist named Victor Kraft, who was only seventeen. The composer’s\u003cbr\u003efriends and family didn’t take the relationship seriously, convinced the couple\u003cbr\u003ewouldn’t survive the dramatic age difference. Copland and Kraft proved\u003cbr\u003ethem wrong. The men not only stayed together but also jointly created a distinctly\u003cbr\u003eAmerican style of music that critics today, eighty years later, are still\u003cbr\u003epraising.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThat the couples were willing to bend the marital rules doesn’t mean they\u003cbr\u003eall succeeded in creating relationships that were made in heaven—far from\u003cbr\u003eit. A regrettable scenario that plays out in several chapters begins with the\u003cbr\u003elesser-known partner being absolutely essential to the better-known partner’s\u003cbr\u003erise to success, but then . . . the high-achieving partner getting what might be\u003cbr\u003ecalled the “twenty-year itch.” Martha Carey Thomas set the standard back in\u003cbr\u003ethe 1890s, summarily dumping her partner of two decades, Mamie Gwinn,\u003cbr\u003efor another woman. Janet Flanner went a similar route in the 1930s, as did\u003cbr\u003eAudre Lorde in the 1980s.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the instances listed above as well as in others where the outlaw marriage\u003cbr\u003eeventually falls apart, readers hear the whole story—which typically includes\u003cbr\u003einfidelity, deceit, and betrayal. These unfortunate factors are revealed\u003cbr\u003ein full detail, as they’re the realities that often confront any long-term relationship,\u003cbr\u003egay or straight.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTo help the various outlaw marriages come alive in the reader’s mind,\u003cbr\u003eI’ve included photos of all fifteen couples. Tracking down these images was\u003cbr\u003eoften a challenge, especially in the instances when one or both members of\u003cbr\u003ea couple—as with Greta Garbo and Mercedes de Acosta—didn’t publicly acknowledge\u003cbr\u003etheir relationship. And so, in some cases, I’ve had to use two separate photos of the partners, since a single photo of them together either didn’t exist or wasn’t available. There are also instances—as with Jane Addams and Mary Rozet Smith—when I’ve used a photo of poor quality because it shows the partners together, even though higher-quality photos of the two individuals separately could have been used.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhether a chapter begins with a single image or a pair of them, each story\u003cbr\u003ethat follows is a page-turner. Sometimes the most compelling element in it is\u003cbr\u003ethe contribution the couple made; other times, it’s the internal dynamics of\u003cbr\u003etheir relationship. But one theme runs through them all:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTwo people joining together to create an outlaw marriage plays a central\u003cbr\u003erole not only in the couple’s extraordinary achievements, but also in each individual\u003cbr\u003epartner’s very being.","brand":"Beacon Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46301347709157,"sku":"NP9780807003428","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780807003428.jpg?v=1767734378","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/outlaw-marriages-isbn-9780807003428","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}