Product Description

In the early nineteenth century, in a puritanical New England town, two women fall in love. With no one to guide or support them, Patience and Sarah try to follow their hearts. Defying society and history, they buy a farm and discover they can live together, away from the world that had sought to limit them and their love . . .

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1323242 in Books
• Published on: 1985-09-12
• Released on: 1985-09-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 192 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Miller's 1972 landmark lesbian novel depicts a love affair between two women in early 19th-century New England.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
The tone is sweetly bold. And the tale evokes many kinds of frontier at once. -- The Village Voice

Review

The writing has the directness and whimsicality of primitive paintings—it is like spiked gingerbread or surprising samplers. The tone is sweetly bold. And the tale evokes many kinds of frontier at once.
—The Village Voice (The Village Voice )

Starred review:The story of a painter and a farmer in 19th-century New England. One of the first lesbian novels with a happy ending and, in 1971, the first recipient of ALAÂ’s Stonewall Book Award.
—Library Journal (May 2007) (Library Journal )

Customer Reviews

Melting...A Classic
This wonderful book used to be one of the few positive lesbian books out there. I know when I found it, years ago, I was comforted by the portrayal of two women making their way in a world that does not want them to be together. They lack even the words to describe their feelings for each other. When one describes her physical reaction to the other's lovemaking as "melting" I thought that was a perfect description for the book. It made all my cynicism melt away for a while.

It's a period piece and a well-written romantic tale that no true romantic will want to miss.

A warm, fuzzy, lovely book.
I picked up this book out of curiosity and because of the "sensational" subject, and was totally captivated by the personalities of the two heroines, the warmth and passion of their relationship, their quest for "a place for us," and the lyrical writing. The plot is a bit too good to be true, but who cares? It's a book to love.

An essential text for any enlighted woman.
PATIENCE AND SARAH was an unexpected suprise to me. As an avid reader, it is books like this that continue to fuel the flames of my reading passion. I found this novel absolutely delightful as a romance story, and unquestionably important as a women's history text. This is an important book for all who consider themselves concerned citizens. The story centers around a lesbian love story but translates its message of sexual awakening, search for identity, and tolerance into a profound reminder of the difficulties surrounding all marginalized groups. I place this novel alongside Simone de Beauvoir's THE SECOND SEX as esential reading that inspires me and has changed the face of women's history forever. the face of society for all women.