List of gay novels prior to the Stonewall riots

In some cases, the label may be applied to early novels which merely contain homosexual allusions or subtext, such as Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Works that feature only minor gay characters or scenes, such as the 1748 erotic novel Fanny Hill, are not included in this list.

One popular and influential writer of early gay novels, Mary Renault, was a lesbian woman.

This list includes only novels written (though not necessarily published) before 1969, the year of the Stonewall riots, which are widely seen as a turning point in the gay rights movement.

The next most popular selections were The City and the Pillar and The Picture of Dorian Gray, but votes were widely dispersed.

American author Gore Vidal wrote the pioneering 1948 novel The City and the Pillar about a gay man coming of age. Vidal himself rejected the labels 'gay' and 'straight', believing all people were naturally bisexual.