Charlie Mills just about has it all: He is young and handsome and well hung. He can have his pick of any man or woman he wants. In the eyes of his rich eccentric grandmother “C.B.”, he can do no wrong and she lavishes him with money and attention. All Charlie has to do is keep within her good graces, follow the path she has set out for him, and he is set for life.
Peter is a new ‘project’ of C.B.’s. In the rather innocent grand-nephew she sees another young man with the same potential as Charlie. She invites Peter to spend the summer at her home on the New Jersey shore, along with Charlie. Her grandson isn’t too sure about having a younger country bumpkin around, but once he lays eyes on Peter he immediately lays plans to seduce the shy boy.
Peter is more than willing to fall under Charlie’s spell. The man opens up a whole new world for the sheltered younger man. As the summer progresses, it becomes clear that the affair is more than just a fling for both men. Peter readily abandons his father’s plans for him to enter West Point and moves in with Charlie in his small New York apartment. At first it’s a happy domestic arrangement, with Peter playing housewife to Charlie’s office working husband. But Peter’s naive acceptance of his homosexuality begins to grate on the bisexual Charlie, and when C.B. tricks Peter into admitting to his love for Charlie, it looks like the relationship is over.
“The Lord Won’t Mind” is considered a pivotal book in the history of gay literature. Prior to its first publication in 1970, most any novel featuring gay characters ended in suicide or in some other depressing way. This story’s open and exuberant description of gay sex, as well as it’s happy ending, was a marked departure.
However, that said, for the contemporary gay reader this isn’t necessarily a pleasant read. Peter and Charlie are, by today’s standards, stereotypically shallow queens obsessed with youth, beauty and dick size. While the writing definitely displays craft, the dialog is often eye rolling while the dramatic turns are over the top in veritable bodice-ripping fashion. The time setting of the story also seemed off. Allusions to the depression and the coming war in Europe place the timing in the late 1930s or early 40s, and yet numerous little details suggest a time much later, after WWII.
Despite its flaws, “The Lord Won’t Mind” is worth a read for the insight it gives into the early years of gay literature. It can be a little depressing to think of how little has changed in gay ‘culture’ in the 40 years since this novel was published, but for some, this is still an important part of their coming out history.
“The Lord Won’t Mind” is out of print and not available in ebook format, but you can usually find it used at Amazon
