The Charioteer: A Novel

The Charioteer is a classic piece of gay literature. It captures what it was like to be a gay man at the close of WW2. It describes how gay culture existed beneath regular society and how men survived the prejudice and fell in love. Mary Renault is also the author of The Persian Boy, which is about the eunuch that Alexander took as a lover when he conquered Babylon. It can read a little… densely(?) in the sense that I found it took a bit more effort to stay engaged than other more recent books. But if you are at all interested in that period of history, it is well worth reading. Ultimately I was quite glad to have read it.

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A WWII soldier embarks on affairs with two very different men in a landmark novel that “transcends categorizations” (The Telegraph).

After being wounded at Dunkirk in World War II, Laurie Odell is sent back home to a rural British hospital. Standing out among the orderlies is Andrew, a bright conscientious objector raised as a Quaker. The unspoken romance between the two men is tested when Ralph, a friend of Laurie’s from school, re-enters his life, introducing him into a milieu of jaded, experienced gay men. Will Laurie reconcile himself to Ralph’s embrace, or can he offer Andrew the idealized, Platonic intimacy he yearns for?

This novel has been called one of the foundation stones of gay literary fiction, ranking alongside James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room and Gore Vidal’s The City and the Pillar.

Celebrated for its literary brilliance and sincere depiction of complex human emotions, The Charioteer is a stirring and beautifully rendered portrayal of love.

The Purple Fantastic Steam rating gives this a 3 out of 5. The story  references sexual activity but it stays relatively discreet.