I remember trying to get this book from library once, thinking it would provide good reading material for my eight-hour train ride. However, although the catalogue listed the book as being in its place on the shelf, I couldn't find it, so either it was misplaced or someone was reading it somewhere in the library. I went back a few times over the next couple of years but it was never there. I vaguely recall that it eventually acquired the status "Missing" in the catalogue, I'm not entirely sure. Nonetheless, as it wasn't readily available for me elsewhere, I hadn't had the chance to read it and it kept slipping down on my To Read lists.

Then I started reading Lilian Faderman's early study of romantic friendships (my review is here) and found myself seething at the frequent references to these friendships being non-sexual, non-physical, and finding the arguments more or less naïve. Donoghue's book sets out to question this attitude and argues convincingly that this was not always the case - there are texts that suggest otherwise. The analyses Donoghue presents are engrossing and detailed, I thoroughly enjoyed them.

This has been my bedside book so I have been reading it over several months and it is now extremely difficult to recall the details of the early parts. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it and am keen to read more on the subject. ( )