100 Years of The Well of Loneliness

Category: News

  • Oral History Interviews – Call Out 

    Our project explores what the novel and its author, Radclyffe Hall, have meant to different readers over the past 100 years. We are carrying out around 100 interviews with people who have read The Well of Loneliness. We are keen to learn about your thoughts, feelings, and experiences, and to discover what the book means to you.

    We want to understand: 

    • How the novel has affected different readers and communities.
    • What it can tell us about how people read and interpret literature.
    • How it can help us to talk about complex or contentious issues today.

    Who can contribute? 

    • Anyone who has read the novel and has a particular story or perspective to share.
    • We are particularly keen to include voices that may be underrepresented, including (but not limited to) individuals who are lesbian, gay, bi, queer, trans, non-binary, or intersex; People of Global Majority; above the age of 60; and/or disabled or neurodivergent. 
    • Interviews will be carried out in English, but we welcome interviewees who may not have English as their first language. 

    When and where? 

    • Interviews will take about an hour and can be carried out at a mutually agreeable time.
    • The interviews can take place online via Zoom, and we are keen to interview people in a range of geographic locations. 
    • If possible, interviews can also be carried out in person. We have a small budget to cover minor travel costs for interviewees.  

    Further details and contact:

    If you are keen to take part, please email us at thewellofloneliness100@gmail.com and tell us why you would like to contribute to our project. 

    Due to limited time and resource, we may not be able to interview everyone who expresses an interest in the project. 

    The project has received a favourable ethical review from the University of Exeter’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Ethics Committee.

  • Open Call for Expressions of Interest: Reimagining Mary Llewellyn

    Reimagining Mary Llewellyn, a collection of short stories written by contemporary Welsh and Wales-based writers, and edited by Elizabeth English, Senior Lecturer in English Literature at Cardiff Metropolitan University, will be published in 2028 as part of the international project 100 Years of The Well of Loneliness.

    Parthian Books announce an open call for expressions of interest. Those selected for commission and publication will receive a professional fee of £400 funded by Arts and Humanities Research Council funding.

    100 Years of The Well of Loneliness is an international research project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The project will 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. 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 place in the literary canon and LGBTQ+ culture.

    The novel follows the journey of Stephen Gordon whose lover is Mary Llewellyn, a Welsh woman represented in disparaging terms: uneducated, helpless, animalistic, voiceless. But what is Mary’s real story?

    This anthology will rewrite, or reimagine, the story of Mary Llewellyn, giving a voice to a character constructed from stereotypes of Welsh identity. In doing this, these stories will reconsider this important, and problematic, novel from the vantage point of the 21st century to explore what this book means for writers today.

    To be considered for the anthology, please send a 300-500 word short story proposal, a 500-1000 word sample of your writing and a 50-100 word biography to the editor, Elizabeth English at eenglish@cardiffmet.ac.uk by Friday 17th April 2026. Writers should be Welsh nationals or residing in Wales, inclusive of all ethnicities, genders, and sexualities. We welcome proposals from people at any stage of their writing careers. Feel free to get in touch with questions or to discuss potential ideas. Full drafts should be 2500-5000 words and are due in January 2027.