8 h 42 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What does it cost to live honestly when the world asks you to hide who you love?
Laura Landon comes to Greenwich Village after a college love affair leaves her hurt. She needs work, friends, and a way to live with her feelings. In Ann Bannon's I Am a Woman, New York opens into a hidden world of bars, parties, and small apartments, where the hope of belonging meets the pressure to keep part of yourself concealed.
Then Laura meets Beebo Brinker, a tall, bold woman whose direct manner and confidence stand against her own uncertainty. Jack Mann, a gay man who becomes a trusted friend, shows her both the comfort and cost of hiding. With memories of Beth Hollis still shaping her choices, Laura faces questions of love, loyalty, and what it means to be herself.
What you’ll discover
- A life after heartbreak Follow Laura as she searches for friendship and a place for her feelings.
- The Village behind closed doors Enter bars, parties, and small apartments where Laura discovers a hidden world.
- Beebo's bold presence Meet a woman whose confidence draws Laura's attention and contrasts with her uncertainty.
- Friendship under pressure Discover how Jack Mann's friendship brings the comfort and cost of hiding into focus.
- The cost of honesty Explore identity through one woman's fear, hope, and desire to live without pretending.
Who will love it
For readers who love romance with real emotional stakes, lesbian history and mid-century New York, and stories of friendship, desire and the courage to be yourself.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Laura leaves heartbreak for New York
- Greenwich Village opens a hidden world
- Beebo Brinker walks into her life
- Friendship and loyalty pull Laura in two directions
- The book asks what it costs to be yourself
- A pulp paperback with a serious heart
Who’s who
- Laura LandonA young woman who comes to New York after a painful love affair, hoping to build a life she can live with.
- Beebo BrinkerA tall, bold young woman of the Village who lives without pretending and who draws Laura's attention.
- Jack MannA gay man who becomes Laura's trusted friend and shows her the comfort and cost of hiding.
- Beth HollisLaura's love from her college days, whose memory still shapes how Laura sees herself and her choices.
Formats and delivery
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 8 h 42 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 8 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Read and hear I Am a Woman in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
I Am a Woman
by Ann Bannon · 1959
Laura Landon enters Greenwich Village's hidden world of women who love women, seeking a life she can call her own.
Medium level5–10 hours to read25 languages
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In short
I Am a Woman is a novel by Ann Bannon, the pen name of Ann Weldy. It first appeared in 1959 as a cheap paperback from Gold Medal Books, a publisher that sold to drugstores, bus stations and newsstands.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Laura leaves heartbreak for New York
Laura Landon is the young woman at the center of the story, and readers of the first book, Odd Girl Out, already know her. In that earlier novel she fell in love with Beth Hollis, a fellow student, and the affair ended in pain. I Am a Woman begins after that loss. Laura has left her old life behind and arrives in New York, a city big enough to hide in.
She does not come as a rebel with a plan. She comes as someone who is hurt, lonely and short of money. She needs a place to sleep, a job and a way to pay for both. Like many young people who move to a big city, she is starting again with very little.
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What is I Am a Woman by Ann Bannon about?
It follows Laura Landon, who moves to Greenwich Village after a painful college love affair. She finds a hidden community, forms new friendships and meets Beebo Brinker, while struggling with shame and the pressures of 1950s society.
Do I need to read Odd Girl Out before I Am a Woman?
It helps but is not required. Odd Girl Out tells of Laura's earlier love for Beth. I Am a Woman picks up afterward and can be followed on its own, though some background adds depth.
Who is Beebo Brinker?
Beebo Brinker is a tall, short-haired, confident young woman in Greenwich Village. She becomes central to Laura's story, and she gives her name to the whole five-book series that Ann Bannon wrote.
The author
Ann Bannon
1932–? · American novelist
Ann Bannon is the pen name of Ann Weldy, born in Joliet, Illinois, in 1932. She wrote six novels published between 1957 and 1962, including I Am a Woman (1959). She later lived in California and taught English at California State University, Sacramento.
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