The Sink of Solitude
Beresford Egan
London: Hermes Press, 1928
Pamph Store 800

This satirical pamphlet comments on the controversy over the Well of Loneliness; a verse response, highly critical of all sides in the case, is accompanied by Beardsley-inspired illustrations by Beresford Egan, novelist and illustrator. This image depicts an immediately recognisable Radclyffe Hall crucified, with the Home Secretary William Joynson-Hicks watching on, embellished with a tail, while the figure of Sappho leaps across the page in abandon. While defending Hall to some extent, the whole publication is opportunistic in comparison to her novel’s clear purpose, and arguably contained more that might be classed as obscene than her writing ever would.