Left to Themselves
1891
Edward Prime-Stevenson
New York : Hunt and Eaton
American
Novel
323pp
Gay Men, Uranian, Special Friendships
But—if one yields to the temptation to be among the prophets, and closes his eyes, there come, chiefly, pleasant thoughts of how good are friendship and love and loyal service between man and man in this rugged world of ours; and how probable it is that such things here have not their ending, since they have not their perfecting here, perfect as friendship and the service sometimes seem.
Summary
Subtitled Being the Ordeal of Philip and Gerald. After the 12 year-old Gerald is rescued from a robber by the 17 year-old Philip, the two embark on a journey to return Gerald to his stockbroker father in Halifax. They contend with a revenge-bent kidnapper, a ship wreck, illness, and the shadow of Philip's disreputable father.
More Info
Also see:
"Left to Themselves: The Subversive Boys Books of Edward Prime-Stevenson (1858-1942)" by James Gifford
"Between Boys: Edward Stevenson's Left to Themselves (1891) and the Birth of Gay Children's Literature" by Eric L. Tribunella in Children's Literature Association Quarterly (2012) Volume 37, Number 4, Winter, 364-388pp.
Donald Cummings' Librivox reading of the novel. Big thanks for this and the Gutenberg text!
Content & Trigger Warnings
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Editions
New York : Hunt and Eaton (1891) Published simultaneously with the latter:
Cincinnati: Cranston and Stowe (1891)