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Women

Now You Can Read The Full, 'Scandalous' Text of Lesbian-esque 1956 Novel 'Chocolate For Breakfast' for the First Time

Back in 1956, Pamela Moore published a fictional coming-of-age novel featuring a rebellious 16-year-old protagonist who drinks alcohol, disregards adult instruction, and — this was the real kicker — openly crushes on her queer teacher Miss Rosen.

Sunnivie Brydum

<p>Sunnivie is an award-winning journalist and the managing editor at <em>The Advocate</em>. A proud spouse and puppy-parent, Sunnivie strives to queer up the world of reporting while covering the politics of equality daily.</p>

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Sunnivie Brydum

sunnivie

July 24 2013 2:40 PM EST

November 08 2024 6:37 AM EST

Back in 1956, Pamela Moore published a fictional coming-of-age novel featuring a rebellious 16-year-old protagonist who drinks alcohol, disregards adult instruction, and — this was the real kicker — openly crushes on her queer teacher Miss Rosen.

Titled Chocolates for Breakfast (with text printed in none-too-subtle rainbow lettering), the book was an acceptable success, getting translated into 11 languages and selling just over 1 million copies. But the slightly sapphic scenes were so offensive to the greater moral consciousness of post-war American censors that the Moore's text was heavily edited before it reached American readers.

But now, for the first time since its publication, American readers can enjoy Chocolates for Breakfast the way its author intended — an honest exploration of adolescence in the absence of parental guidance, featuring a teen navigating the mazes of budding sexuality and independent identity.

Our friends at AfterEllen have an excerpt from the book that was censored in previous editions, so you can see just how scandalous Moore's lesbian-adjacent literature really was. It's also worth noting that Moore was just 18 years old when she wrote the manuscript, though she writes with a tone and sensibility that belies her youth, and has attracted comparisons to J.D. Salinger.