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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
You will love this book if you enjoy character-driven stories about longing, found friends, and city nightlife. It suits readers curious about gay life in the 1950s, and anyone drawn to sharp dialogue.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Leaving does not erase the past
- Work gives Laura a foothold
- Laura hides her love for Marcie
- Jack recognizes what Laura keeps hidden
- Honesty brings relief but not agreement
- Beebo awakens desire and shame
- Her father's denial renews the wound
- The telling exposes Laura's blind spots
- Longing can hide the living person
Who’s who
- Laura LandonA shy, bookish twenty-year-old who runs from her tyrant father to New York and wants love she is afraid to name.
- Merrill LandonLaura's father, a hard-driving Chicago newspaperman who never shows tenderness and still shapes her every fear.
- Marcie ProffittLaura's golden-haired, talkative roommate, divorced and unable to leave her ex-husband alone, who treats feelings like a game.
- BurrMarcie's ex-husband, an apprentice architect with a crew cut who adores her, quarrels with her, and wants her back.
- Jack MannA witty, drinking draftsman who calls Laura Mother, hides his loneliness behind jokes, and guides her through gay New York.
- Beebo BrinkerA handsome, boyish elevator operator in the Village who is cynical about love and wants Laura more than she admits.
- Terry FlemingJack's young, spoiled lover, who likes nice things and cannot decide whether he loves the older man.
- SarahLaura's plain, kind coworker, who wants a boyfriend and cares more about Laura than Laura notices.
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I Am a Woman
by Ann Bannon · 1959
Laura leaves her father in Chicago for New York, where a golden-haired roommate and a boyish stranger wait.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
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In short
What would you do if the person who raised you could never say a kind word to you? Laura Landon answers that question on a rainy January night in Chicago.
I Am a Woman at a glance
- Reading time
- About 5 h 5 min4 h 5 min fast, 6 h 5 min slow
- Length
- 73,100 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1959by Ann Bannon
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Laura leaves her father and takes the train
Laura Landon leaves Chicago with one small bag. Merrill Landon is a successful newspaperman, and he has ruled her life for as long as she can remember. She slips out while he is at a press dinner and buys a ticket to New York.
Her father never kisses her and never touches her kindly. He answers her with no, and with sarcasm so sharp that she feels like a freak in a fun-house mirror. Sometimes he strikes her. His hold on her goes back to a lake resort. When Laura was five, the family boat tipped over. Her mother and her brother Rod drowned, and her father pulled only Laura to shore. He has thrown that rescue in her face ever since, as if her life were a debt.
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Details
- First published
- 1959
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 5 h 35 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Bannon, Ann. I Am a Woman. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/i-am-a-woman.
Bannon, A. (2026). I am a woman. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/i-am-a-woman (Original work published 1959)
Bannon, Ann. I Am a Woman. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/i-am-a-woman.
@book{bannon2026i,
author = {Bannon, Ann},
title = {I Am a Woman},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/i-am-a-woman},
note = {First published 1959}
}
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What is I Am a Woman about?
It follows Laura Landon, who leaves her harsh father in Chicago for New York in the 1950s. She falls for her roommate, makes friends in the gay bars of Greenwich Village, and begins to understand who she is.
Who is Beebo Brinker?
Beebo is a boyish, handsome young woman who works as an elevator operator and drinks in Village bars. She is cynical about love but is drawn to Laura. She is the title character of a later novel in the series.
Do you need to read the other Beebo Brinker books first?
No. I Am a Woman tells a full story of its own, with Laura at its center. Characters from earlier books appear, but the novel introduces everyone you need.
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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