Outlaw Marriages

Outlaw Marriages: The Hidden Histories of Fifteen Extraordinary Same Sex Couples by Rodger Streitmatter  224 pp.


This is a collection of short bios of couples who lived together as spouses before the times when same sex marriage became legal. The author concluded his book with a mention of his own 35+ year partnership and ultimate marriage to Thomas Grooms. Although published in 2012 the author occasionally uses terminology with regards to sexual orientation that today might be offensive to some but were acceptable in the time of the couples included. The subjects of the book are names that are familiar and others not so well known. The list:

Walt Whitman & Peter Doyle
Martha Carey Thomas & Mamie Swinn
Ned Warren & John Marshall

Mary Rozet Smith & Jane Addams

Bessie Marbury & Esie de Wolfe

J.C. Leyendecker & Charles Beach

Alice B. Toklas & Gertrude Stein

Janet Flanner & Solita Solano

Greta Garbo & Mercedes de Acosta

Aaron Copland & Victor Kraft

Frank Merlo & Tennessee Williams

James Baldwin & Lucien Happersberg

Robert Rauschenberg & Jasper Johns

Ismail Merchant & James Ivory
Frances Clayton & Audre Lorde