Acquired Tastes XLIII: Gay Pulp Fiction, Part 187 - Beacon Books

Acquired Tastes XLIII:

Gay Pulp Fiction, Part 187

Beacon Books

Today, we'll take a look at Beacon Books and their three gay male-oriented titles.

Beacon Books (also listed as Beacon Signal Books and Beacon Softcover Books) was an American publishing house active from approximately 1953 to 1967. Their strategy focused on the male readers' market, competing with similar publishers such as Midwood Books. The Universal Publishing and Distributing Corporation operated out of New York. 

 

The bulk of their output was heterosexual fare dealing with nymphos, suburban housewives, call girls, hedonistic Lotharios, office romances, woman torn between two lovers, and wife swapping. However, there were two instances when the books dealt with the tortures of twilight men, and at least 40 books which dealt with 'the third sex'.

Two of the gay male titles deal with men torn between a woman and their 'unnatural' desires. Both published during the 1950s, they support that eras misbegotten belief that a gay man could 'choose' and 'be cured' of his homosexuality.

Note: Hommi Publishing's Big Ass List has a fourth gay male title listed. However, after researching it, I am doubtful it was published by the same publisher as the other three. For one thing, it contains 34 pages of color photographs at the beginning of the novel, not something Beacon Signal Books did. Also, the two sources I found for the book failed to credit the book to Beacon Books, so I have decided to not include it.

The sensually lustrous cover art was provided by some of the top illustrators of the day and include Uljigern, Burce Minney, George Eisenberg, Harry Barton, Charles Copeland, Robert Bonfils, and Ernest Chiraka.

For today's post, I'll share the three gay male titles and eight of the forty plus lesbian titles I found. The remaining lesbian titles will be shared this Saturday, as a part of the 'Weekend Onesie' posts. I want to share all of them, for there some really great covers featuring some truly outlandish blurbs.

The Dispossessed
Author: Geoffrey Wagner 
Beacon Books

1956

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The Strange Ones
Author: Ben Travis

Beacon Books

1959

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Whisper

Author: Sean O'Shea

Beacon Books

1965

According to Hommi Publishing's Big Ass List, this one is "set in an exclusive prep school for boys."

Sean O'Shea was a pseudonym used by Sandor Robert Tralins, who was an American author of science fiction and pulp magazine fiction. He reportedly authored more than 250 books, including pornography, and used numerous pseudonyms.

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Man Among Women

Author: Randy Salem

Illustration: Uljegren

Beacon Books

1960

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Different

Author: Dorine Clark

Illustration: Bruce Minney

Beacon Books

1960

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Love In The Shadows

Author: Herb Roberts

Illustration: George Eisenberg

Beacon Books

1963

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The Twisted Path

Author: J. Malcolm Maxwell

Illustration: Harry Barton

Beacon Books

1963

J. Malcolm Maxwell is a pseudonym for William Donald Frissell. Frissell wrote a biography of Frank G. Slaughter. 

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The Narrow Line

Author: Herb Roberts

Illustration: Charles Copeland

Beacon Books

1963

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The Third Lust

Author: George Simon

Illustration: Darcy Ernest Chiriaka

Beacon Books

1963

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One Kind Of Woman

Author: Ralph Dean

Illustration Paul Rader

Beacon Books

1963

 

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And that's all for now.

Until next time...

Thanks for reading!

Whispering Your Name - Alison Moyet 

(feat. Dawn French)