Gentlemen, I Address You Privately
1933
Kay Boyle
New York : H. Smith and R. Haas
American
Novel
341pp
Bisexual, Gay Men, Lesbians, Religion, Nautical, Military
Summary
A disgraced priest exiles himself to Normandy, where he meets and falls in love with a sailor who deserted and robbed his superior officers. They take refuge in a declining port in Brittany with a trio of lesbians and a married couple strained by poverty.
More Info
The title references part of a poem by Ernest Walsh, Boyle's late husband: "Gentlemen, I address you privately / and no woman is within hearing."
Also see:
Kirkus Review (Jun 15, 1933)
Kay Boyle, Artist and Activist (1986) by Sandra Whipple Spanier
Content & Trigger Warnings
(highlight to reveal)
POVERTY: extended depictions of poverty
Editions
New York : H. Smith and R. Haas (1933) first edition dust cover by Kline Books.
Santa Barbara : Capra Press (1991) contains the revised manuscript that Boyle completed in August 1990 after two years of work. For some reason it states that the book was originally from 1931; I don't see this date for it anywhere else.