CHARIOTEER (VIRAGO MODERN CLASSIC)

Injured at Dunkirk, Laurie Odell, a young corporal, is recovering at a rural veterans' hospital. There he meets Andrew, a conscientious objector serving as an orderly. The men find solace in their covert friendship until Ralph Lanyon appears. Through him, Laurie is drawn into a tight-knit circle of gay men for whom liaisons are fleeting and he is forced to choose between the ideals of friendship and the pleasures of experience. First published in 1953, this coming-of-age novel is a bold, unapologetic portrayal of homosexuality.