1960s Drag Performer Novel "Somewhere Between the Two

[LGBTQ] Little, Jay (Clarence Lewis Miller). Somewhere Between the Two. New York: Pageant Press, 1962. Hardcover, First Edition, Fourth Printing. A mid-century novel exploring gender nonconformity, cross-dressing, and queer identity at a time when such topics remained largely taboo. Octavo. Original tan cloth with gilt lettering; publisher’s dust jacket, featuring brown, pink, and white design elements. Published in 1959, this work represents a critical point in the literary history of gender variance, appearing just before the social and political emergence of openly transgender identities in the 1960s. The novel’s title and cover design—featuring the (truncated) male (♂), female (♀), and intersex symbols—suggest a narrative centered on the fluidity of gender, an advanced and often subversive theme for the era. In the 1950s, gender nonconformity was still largely pathologized, and trans identities were rarely acknowledged outside of medical literature or sensationalized media accounts. Instead, cross-dressing and drag culture, particularly in underground gay bars and urban queer communities, provided some of the only public expressions of gender variance. Novels such as Somewhere Between the Two functioned as coded explorations of trans experience, often framed in terms of disguise, deception, or internal conflict, reflecting both the limited understanding and the cautious visibility of nonbinary and transgender people at the time. Jacket with moderate edgewear, several chips and tears, particularly along the spine and corners; some creasing and rubbing. Interior clean, binding solid. An uncommon title from the mid-century era of gender exploration in American fiction. (Inventory #: 21404)