Vidal

1974 · réf. 20755 — 1974. LGBTQ Transgender Vidal Gore. Myron. New York Random House 1974. Signed in purple ink by author on title page. First edition. 244 pages. Original navy blue binding with "GV" stamped in gilt on cover and author title and published stamped on spine. Original dustjacket in good condition. Myron is the 1974 sequel to Vidal's groundbreaking 1968 novel Myra Breckinridge one of the first American novels to feature a transgender protagonist. This twisting gender-bending narrative follows the same protagonist after the events of Myra Breckinridge when they have returned to their neutered male persona Myron. While watching TV one night Myron finds himself transported into the 1948 film Siren of Babylon a chaotic world where Myra threatens to take over again. In the introduction to the book Vidal speaks out against the landmark 1973 Miller vs. California case in which the Supreme Court ruled that obscene and pornographic materials are not protected by the First Amendment and may be banned by governmental authority saying "Chief Justice Warren Burger admitted that although no link has been found between the consumption of pornography and anti-social behavior any community may assume that such a connection exists if it wants to - in other words an outraged community may burn a witch even though properly speaking witches do not exist." In an sardonic attempt to preclude himself from such a witch hunt Vidal replaced the "dirty" words in the novel with the names of the concurring Supreme Court justices and anti-pornography activists Father Morton Hill and Edward Keating to "revitalize a language gone stale and inexact from too much 'burgering' around with meaning." Some light dampstaining to dustjacket. Overall very good condition. First edition novel dealing with transexuality and gender-fluidity signed by celebrated author and free speech activist Gore Vidal. unknown books