The City and the Pillar by Gore Vidal

[JaneConsumer]

Not strictly historical fiction, this contemporary novel portrays the gay experience in the post-Depression U.S. It's a classic and it shocked the American public when published.

According to a biography of the author, "critics loudly condemned what they regarded as the book's immorality. The New York Times refused to review Vidal's subsequent books for almost a decade; some publications even refused to print his name, much less review his books. Another novel completed in Guatemala, A Season of Comfort, disappeared in the face of a virtual blackout by the mainstream press."

You may read the full review here.