The Gilda Stories

The Gilda Stories is the 1991 debut novel of American author and activist Jewelle Gomez. It is a speculative fiction vampire novel following the experiences of a Black lesbian through multiple time periods.

Plot

The protagonist starts in 1850 as an unnamed runaway slave in Louisiana. After killing a bounty hunter in self-defense, she is rescued by Gilda, a vampire who runs a brothel named Woodard’s. The women at the brothel begin to educate her and welcome her into their family. Eventually, she becomes a vampire and adopts Gilda’s name when Gilda chooses to end her own life. The novel then proceeds in historical vignettes through different cities and time periods, highlighting key moments in Gilda’s life. She is in California in 1890, Missouri in 1921, Massachusetts in 1955, New York in 1981, New Hampshire in 2020, and the “Land of Enchantment” in 2050.

Themes

Kirkus Reviews writes that the heroine’s power and morality challenge assumptions about the vampire myth. The movement across time and space also situates the themes of Blackness, sexuality, and female empowerment in various contexts.

Awards and honors

In 1992, The Gilda Stories won the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction and the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Science Fiction and Fantasy.

To mark the book’s 20th anniversary in 2011, readings of it took place at the Museum of the African Diaspora and the Queer Arts Festival.

Adaptation

Gomez’s adaptation of the book for the stage, Bones & Ash: A Gilda Story, was performed by the Urban Bush Women in 13 U.S. cities.

Sequel

As of 2024, Gomez is working on a sequel to The Gilda Stories.

== References ==