The Charioteer

mp3 cd

Published Dec. 1, 2015 by Audible Studios on Brilliance Audio.

ISBN:
978-1-5113-3999-5
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5 stars (1 review)

After enduring an injury at Dunkirk during World War II, Laurie Odell is sent to a rural veterans' hospital in England to convalesce. There he befriends the young, bright Andrew, a conscientious objector serving as an orderly. As they find solace and companionship together in the idyllic surroundings of the hospital, their friendship blooms into a discreet, chaste romance. Then one day, Ralph Lanyon, a mentor from Laurie's schoolboy days, suddenly reappears in Laurie's life, and draws him into a tight-knit social circle of world-weary gay men. Laurie is forced to choose between the sweet ideals of innocence and the distinct pleasures of experience.

Originally published in the United States in 1959, The Charioteer is a bold, unapologetic portrayal of male homosexuality during World War II that stands with Gore Vidal's The City and the Pillar and Christopher Isherwood's Berlin Stories as a monumental work in gay literature.

20 editions

beautiful

5 stars

This was amazing!! Most of the references I see to this book are how great it is as an early openly gay and sympathetic story (no small feat in 1953 England) but it’s also a beautifully written novel. Kinda had mixed feelings about who needed rescuing more but Laurie is the perfect boyfriend.