Author Rita Mae Brown — LGBT History Month Day 7

Today’s LGBT History Month icon is author and screenwriter Rita Mae Brown.

Born November 28, 1944, Brown is perhaps best known for her semi-autobiographical novel “Rubyfruit Jungle,” but she is also a noteworthy civil rights activist.

Biography vi–Equality Forum:

An only child, Brown was adopted and raised in York, Pennsylvania. At age 11, her family moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Brown’s interest in political activism began with the black civil rights movement. In 1964, after losing her scholarship at the University of Florida due to her involvement in a rally, Brown was forced to drop out of school. She hitchhiked to New York where she lived in an abandoned car before enrolling at New York University (NYU).

At NYU, Brown cofounded the Student Homophile League. In 1968, she joined the National Organization of Women (NOW). She worked there until a schism over whether or not to support lesbian issues caused her to resign. She says she was “kicked out” for raising the gay issue.

Betty Friedan is largely blamed for Brown’s expulsion from NOW. Years later, Friedan publicly apologized and admitted her actions were wrong.

After severing ties with NOW, Brown joined the Redstockings, a liberal feminist group. She helped form the lesbian feminist newspaper Furies Collective. Thereafter, she earned –Ph.D. in political science from the Institute for Policy Studies, a progressive think tank in Washington, D.C.

Brown’s coming-of-age lesbian novel, “Rubyfruit Jungle,” sold over 70,000 copies and made her a champion of lesbian rights. The book’s success encouraged her to author other lesbian novels.

In addition to more than 50 books, Brown has written numerous television screenplays. She received Emmy nominations for the variety show “I Love Liberty” and the miniseries “The Long Hot Summer.”

Brown lives on a farm outside of Charlottesville, Virginia. She is a Master of Fox Hounds and advocates for animal rescue.

Below is a 2009 CNN interview with Rita Mae in which she discusses her love of animals and her status as a Master of Fox Hounds:

Bibliography

• Brown, Rita Mae. “Rita Mae Brown.”–Rita Mae Brown. 8 June 2011.
• Heidemann, Jason A. “Straight talker: Author Rita Mae Brown shoots from the hip.”–Time Out Chicago. 8 June 2011.
• “Rita Mae Brown.”–NCT American Collection. 8 June 2011.
• “Rita Mae Brown Quotes.” A Brainy Quote. 8 June 2011.
• Sachs, Andrea. “Rita Mae Brown: Loves Cats, Hates Marriage.”–Time. 8 June 2011.

Books

• The Hand That Cradles the Rock (1971)
• Songs to a Handsome Woman (1973)
• Southern Discomfort(1983)
• Rubyfruit Jungle (1983)
• Sudden Death (1984)
• High Hearts (1987)
• In Her Day (1988)
• Venus Envy (1994)
• Dolley (1995)
• Starting from Scratch (1996)
• Riding Shotgun (1997)
• Rita Will (1999)
• Alma Mater (2002)
• Animal Magnetism (2009)
• A Nose for Justice (2010)
• The Mrs. Murphy Books:
• Wish You Were Here (1990)
• Rest in Pieces (1992)
• Murder at Monticello (1994)
• Pay Dirt (1995)
• Murder, She Meowed (1996)
• Murder on the Prowl (1998)
• Cat on the Scent (1999)
• Sneaky Pie’s Cookbook for Mystery Lovers (1999)
• Pawing through the Past (2000)
• Claws and Effect (2001)
• Catch as Cat Can (2002)
• The Tail of the Tip-Off (2003)
• Whisker of Evil (2004)
• Cat’s Eyewitness (2006)
• Sour Puss (2006)
• Puss ‘n Cahoots (2008)
• The Purrfect Murder (2009)
• Santa Clawed (2009)
• Cat of the Century (2010)

The Runneymede Series:

• Six of One (1999)
• Bingo (1999)
• Loose Lips (2000)
• The Sand Castle (2008)

The “Sister” Jane Fox Hunting Mysteries:

• Out Foxed (2002)
• Hotspur (2002)
• Full Cry (2003)
• The Hunt Ball (2005)
• The Hounds and the Fury (2007)
• The Tell-Tale Horse (2008)
• Hounded to Death (2009)

Screenplays

• I Love Liberty (1982)
• The Long Hot Summer (1985)
• My Two Loves (1986)
• Me and Rubyfruit (1989)
• Rich Men, Single Women (1990)
• The Woman Who Loved Elvis (1993)
• Mary Pickford: A Life on Film (1997)
• Murder She Purred: A Mrs. Murphy Mystery (1998) (TV)