Mary Renault

Mary Renault (pronounce by her as "Rehn-olt") (1905-1983) is a historical and queer novelist. She was partnered with Julie Mullard, a nurse. She is perhaps best known for two novels about the mythological character Theseus, The King Must Die and The Bull from the Sea. Although about a mythological character, Renault told the stories in a generally realistic mode, stripping them of most (but not all) of their more fantastic elements.

Names

• Eileen Mary Challans (birth name)

Notable works

• The Friendly Young Ladies (1943; realist, lesbian)
• The Charioteer (1953; contemporary, gay men)
• The Last of the Wine (1956; first historical; gay men)
• Theseus books: The King Must Die (1958) and The Bull from the Sea (1962)

Further reading

• Wikipedia
• Davis Sweetman, Mary Renault: A Biography (1994)
• Caroline Zilboorg, The Masks of Mary Renault: A Literary Biography (2001)

See also

• Black Sash - South African organization founded in 1955; white women's organization for resistance to apartheid