Dwell in the Wilderness

New York: Covici-Friede. Very Good+ in Good dj. (c.1935). First Edition. Hardcover. DETAILS NEEDED. The future blacklistee's first novel, "a book that goes straight to the heart of America." It's a multi-generational saga centering around a Michigan family, a mismatched husband and wife (he a gentle but ineffectual sort, she a religious zealot) and their four children, three boys and a girl. One boy becomes an alcoholic and another a money-worshipping status-seeker, but the more interesting pair are the sister (an aspiring actress) and the youngest brother (who's gay), who migrate to New York along with brother's lover, where they all cohabit and attempt to form a theatrical troupe. Anthony Slide, in his study "Lost Gay Novels," notes that "it is all very civilized for its day, and free of any name-calling or gay stereotyping." .