100% NZ-owned | 80,000+ Books In NZ 📚

Today Only: 20% Off When You Buy 2+ Stationery Items! 🎨

The Gilda Stories

The immortal cult classic
By Jewelle Gomez
0.0 (0 reviews)
3.96 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating. ( 4,037 ratings, 647 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez is a unique blend of science fiction and fantasy that follows an escaped slave in 1850s Louisiana who becomes immortal. As Gilda, she travels through time, exploring themes of identity, community, and survival against the backdrop of changing American landscapes. The novel offers a fresh take on vampire lore, focusing on personal transformation and empowerment.
Read More
Format: Hardback
TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK Please add to wishlist to be notified when back in stock

Sorry, we're currently out of stock of The Gilda Stories. Please add to your Wishlist and we'll send you an email as soon as it's back in stock.

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you appreciate a blend of vampire folklore with themes of identity and social change. This unique narrative spans two centuries, blending science fiction and fantasy with explorations of race, gender, and power. It's a powerful and imaginative read for those who enjoy stories with rich character development and a fresh perspective on the vampire genre.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

The Gilda Stories

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A masterpiece of Black feminist fiction, The Gilda Stories is the cult 90s classic that reimagines the vampire myth.

'A groundbreaking work of Afrofuturism before the term was even coined' - Guardian

'A lush, exciting, inspiring read' - Sarah Waters

In this radically reimagined vampire myth, the night hides many things...

Louisiana, 1850. A young girl escapes slavery and is taken in by two mysterious women. Rumoured to be witches, the pair travel only at night, dress in men's clothing and seem to know others' innermost thoughts. But the girl sees the promise of true freedom in their dark, glittering eyes—the promise to 'share the blood' and live forever. They name her Gilda.

Over the next two hundred years, Gilda moves through unseen spaces—through antebellum brothels, gold-rush bars, Black women's suffrage groups, hair salons, and jazz clubs, searching for a way to exist in the world. Her body, powerful against the passage of time, will know both beauty and horror through the women she desires and the blood she craves. But can Gilda truly outrun the darkness of history and face a future where the lives of everyone she loves are at stake?

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Jewelle Gomez's novel is praised for being ahead of its time, offering a lush, exciting, and inspiring portrayal of Black lesbian community through the ages. It is recognised for its groundbreaking portrayal of identity and community, featuring a protagonist who embodies resilience and ethics amidst challenges of racism, sexism, and more. The book is celebrated as a revolutionary classic in speculative fiction, combining themes of queerness and historical retelling through a vampire narrative, making it both a classic and a timely exploration of important social issues.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781784878627

Publisher: Vintage Publishing

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 07 September 2023

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Vintage Classics

Contributors:

  • Afterword by Alexis Pauline Gumbs

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 38.0mm

Width: 136.0mm

Height: 218.0mm

Weight: 440g

Pages: 336

Collections

Fantasy Fiction General Fiction Health & Wellness Historical Fiction Jewelle Gomez LGBTQ+ LGBTQ+ Romance Penguin Books Sci-Fi & Fantasy Self-Help & Personal Development

About the Author

Jewelle Gomez is a writer, activist and the author of the double Lambda Award-winning novel, The Gilda Stories. Her other publications include The Lipstick Papers, Flamingoes and Bears and Oral Tradition. Formerly the executive director of the Poetry Center and the American Poetry Archives at San Francisco State University, she has also worked in philanthropy for many years. She is the former director of the literature programme at the New York State Council on the Arts, the director of Grants and Community Initiatives for Horizon and the President of the San Francisco Library Commission. She lives in San Francisco.

Also by Jewelle Gomez

View all

More from Sci-Fi & Fantasy

View all

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 80,000 books and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.