Under The Mink
by Lisa E. Davis
A novel about New York City in the good old days (1949) and entertainers who worked in drag, when that got you jail time instead of a TV show.
"Fans can be so veddy veddy demanding. Give 'em lots of leg, hips, and lips." ~Under the Mink
This past summer, I found Under the Mink in the middle of China! My husband and I cruised the Three Gorges section of the Yangzte River, and visited the ship's library (over 200 paperbacks left behind by previous travelers) to see if there was anything worth reading. There was Under the Mink, and the author was you! Up on deck, I spent long hours lounging and following Blackie Cole's exploits while gliding past mountains and gorges. I enjoyed the book so much that I passed it on to a woman from Ohio we’d been traveling with. She took Under the Mink to read on the plane ride home, and later wrote me that it was the first time she had ever read a story with a lesbian theme. She loved it! ~Shelly, a yoga buddy
"In the netherworld of Greenwich Village 1949, it’s drag queens and hookers against Mafiosi, crooked cops and other assorted thugs in Lisa E. Davis’s Under the Mink. When a gay man from a wealthy publishing family is murdered in the restroom of the Candy Box Club cabaret, drag king Blackie Cole gets caught in a web of danger and intrigue. Davis captures the decadence of New York’s pre-Stonewall gay scene and the constant abuse that the men and women who comprised it were subjected to. The strength they find in one another while being scapegoated by the media, the police and just about everyone else is inspiring. ~Publishers Weekly
"In Under the Mink, Lisa Davis brings to magnificent life a bawdy, brave lesbian 'underworld' not often seen in print. An author of immense talent, Davis lovingly re-creates the night life of bar entertainers who are often just a step ahead of police and mob violence. With its memorable characters, its acute details, its sense of fun, danger; and passion, with its butch swagger and fem elegance, this novel is a vital addition to our literary tradition. Long may Lisa Davis write!" ~Joan Nestle, co-founder, Lesbian Herstory Archives, Brooklyn, NY