Escaping a downpour, Susan ducks into an antiques shop in Manhattan and discovers a scrapbook from the 1920s. She buys the book and her fate becomes inextricably linked with the four women in the photos.Richly atmospheric and featuring a memorable cast of characters, Out of Time is a delightful novel about history, love, and the persistence of passion.

In rural Virginia in 1958, history professor Gen Rider has just secured tenure at Baines College, a private school for white women. With two strikes against her—she's a woman in a men's field, and she's a race traitor who teaches "Negro history"—Gen has accomplished the near-impossible and should be celebrating. Instead, she's mourning the break-up of a long-distance relationship with another woman—a romance she has tightly guarded, even from her straight female mentor. Danger hits close to home when a nearby men's college uncovers a "homosexual circle" involving its faculty, staff, and students. Suspicion spreads across the two campuses, threatening Gen and her friend Fenton, the gay theater director at Baines. When a neighbor spies Gen kissing a woman in her own home, hearings into moral turpitude at the college catch her in a McCarthy-like web. With both her private life and her teaching methods under scrutiny, Gen faces an agonizing choice: Which...

In 1983, Livvie Bliss leaves western North Carolina for New York City, armed with a degree in English and a small cushion of cash from a favorite aunt. Her goal is to launch a career in publishing, but more important, to live openly as a lesbian. A rough start makes Livvie think she should give up and head home, but then a new friend helps her land a job at a literary agency run by the formidable Bea Winston. Bea hopes Livvie's Southern charm and "boyish" good looks will help her bond with one of the agency's most illustrious clients—the cranky Modernist writer Clio Hartt, a closeted octogenarian lesbian of the Paris Lost Generation who has rarely left her Greenwich Village apartment in four decades. When Livvie becomes Clio's gofer and companion, the plan looks like it's working: The two connect around their shared Carolina heritage, and their rapport gives Clio support and inspiration to think about publishing again. But something isn't quite right with...

In 1850s Manhattan, 18-year-old Georgiana Cartwright witnesses the downfall of her father, a renowned actor who disgraces himself performing under the influence. When he deserts the family, Georgie is expected to save the day by marrying well. But she aspires to the stage, hoping to earn an independent living like her idol, the great actress Charlotte Cushman. Hired as a supporting actress for a prominent theater company, Georgie launches her career with the help of a trio of young friends, including Clementine, a budding scribe determined to make her mark on the literary landscape—and to win Georgie's heart. Early reviews garner Georgie the promise of a bright future, but then unwanted sexual advances from within the company threaten to derail her career. Following Cushman's lead, Georgie regains her footing in "breeches roles" parts written for men but performed by women. A thrilling gender-bending turn in a Shakespearean role boosts her...

Over seven decades, Librarian, Ada Shook, is witness to the racism laced through her Southern city; the paradox of religion as both comfort and torment; and the survival networks created by gay people. Eleven interconnected stories cover the sweep of one woman's personal history as she reaches her own form of Southern womanhood—compassionate, resilient, principled, lesbian.