Welcome to 100 Years of The Well of Loneliness! 100 Years is an international research project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). The project will, for the first time, explore the rich reception histories of the most famous banned novel in LGBTQ+ history, Radclyffe Hall’s The Well of Loneliness.
Published and banned as obscene in the UK in 1928, The Well of Loneliness has offered support and affirmation to generations of readers across the world over the last 100 years. Despite its status as the so-called ‘Lesbian Bible’, the novel has also alienated, offended, shocked, and divided readers and continues to inspire debates about its politics, value, and status within the literary canon and LGBTQ+ culture. The 2028 centenary of the novel’s publication and ban offers a vital opportunity to capture its rich reception history. 100 Years will also use Hall’s novel as a springboard for developing much-needed methods of audience engagement, in order to bring together different perspectives and to facilitate dialogue, learning, and understanding around contested histories and cultural heritage.
Find out more about our work and the project team.