As a Lover by Hilary McCollum: Book Launch

Doors at 5:30pm

Start time at 6pm

As a Lover is a historical novel about the power of stories to create change. London, 1928. Award-winning author, Radclyffe Hall, hopes her new novel, The Well of Loneliness, will revolutionise attitudes to same-sex relationships. It soon comes under attack from the right-wing press, concerned about its potential impact on readers. One such reader is Belfast-born Maggie Dillon, a trainee firefighter who has been struggling with fears that she is an abomination after kissing another woman at a party. Can The Well transform Maggie's views about herself and help her to find love? And will Radclyffe Hall keep her book in print long enough to radically change the views of society?

Book sales courtesy of No Alibis book store and copies can be pre-ordered now.

'As a Lover is that rare and precious thing, an historical novel whose concerns are every bit as urgent now as they were then. A story of real power, told by a writer of consummate skill. Read it. Do.'

- Glenn Patterson

'Sweeping history, deep emotions and lyrical storytelling animate this tender love story that illuminates the inner lives of neglected legendary heroines. I loved it.'

- Michelle Gallen

'We're gripped immediately, hooked into the impeccably researched history of the banning of The Well of Loneliness, which acts as backdrop to the coming out experience of Maggie our firefighter, whom we can do nothing but love, as she learns about herself and her world.'

- Evelyn Conlon

As a Lover vividly imagines the world of 1920s London, of lives riven with desire, intrigue, and ambition, with fascinating glimpses of lesbian life, full of glorious details and moving encounters. A riveting, immersive novel that makes wonderful links between past and present.'

- Ger Moane

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Host or Publisher School of Arts, English and Languages