Get ready to learn more about the book The Latecomer in this discussion with sapphic author Sarah Aldridge.
Join us for an exclusive peek behind the scenes as we quiz Sarah Aldridge about The Latecomer, writing, reading, and more.
This book is part of the Second Chance category in the 2025 IHS Reading Challenge.
Please note, Sarah Aldridge died 21 years ago. Salem West of Bywater Books answered the questions below in Sarah’s honor.
Why did you write The Latecomer?
One of the drivers behind the founding of Naiad Press was that Sarah Aldridge believed lesbian stories like The Latecomer would otherwise never be published. She felt mainstream publishers wouldn’t touch a novel with lesbian content in the early 1970s. Her partner, Muriel Crawford, explained, “she used to tell me it was all about having a chance to tell our stories.”
Aldridge’s goal was not only to produce quality lesbian fiction—but fiction that portrayed women loving women as “normal, valuable human beings.” She was called to refute common stereotypes that painted lesbians as “abnormal, perverse, guilt-ridden aberrations.”
The Latecomer is often cited as one of the first (if not the first) lesbian novel to grant a happy ending to its lesbian characters—a radical act in a time when so many queer narratives were tragic or hopeless. That optimism and affirmation were part of what she wanted to offer.
Who is your favorite character in the book?
There isn’t a lot of archival writing from Sarah Aldridge (a.k.a. Anyda Marchant) about exactly how she felt about each character in The Latecomer, but we can infer a lot from what she said she wanted the book to do, and from how readers and critics describe her intentions and character-portrayals.
It is clear that Aldridge felt compassion, respect, and love for her characters. She seemed to treat them not as “outsiders” or “other,” but as fully human—flawed, complex, quietly yearning for connection. From reading her novels, it is clear that her compassion extended to the emotional realities of self-discovery: the awkwardness, the longing, the uncertainty before love becomes clear. She gave her characters the time and space to “come late” to themselves—without judgment. In short, her characters were embodiments of possibility. Of living quietly but passionately, loving, healing, and claiming their own stories.
What inspired the idea for The Latecomer?
Sarah Aldridge wanted to create hope, normalcy, and dignity for lesbians: to show their lives and loves as worthy of happiness, not tragedy or shame.
What was the biggest challenge writing this book?
We will never know the challenges Sarah Aldridge faced in the actual writing of this novel, but finding a publishing house to publish the book was all but impossible, which is why Naiad Press came into existence.
When Naiad tried to print copies of The Latecomer, they ran into strong resistance: many printers refused to print a “lesbian book.” That was not unusual in the early 1970s. According to friends, they eventually found a small printing company in Florida—one whose only other big client was a Baptist church. As Aldridge described it, “It was a remarkable combination.”
How did you come up with the title for your book?
Sarah Aldridge never left a definitive explanation for why she titled the novel The Latecomer, but the name fits the emotional architecture of her work so precisely that the meaning feels clear. Aldridge wrote women who were allowed to arrive in their own time. She gave her characters the space to “come late” to themselves—without judgment, without shame, and without the punitive endings that queer fiction so often carried in the 1970s.
For Aldridge, a “latecomer” wasn’t someone behind or someone failing; it was someone awakening. Someone embracing her authentic self, her desires, and her truth at the moment she was finally ready. Her characters are embodiments of possibility—women learning to live quietly but passionately, to love fully, to heal old wounds, and to claim their stories with courage.
What animal or object best represents you as an author or your writing style?
From what friends say about Sarah Aldridge—her quiet strength, her thoughtfulness, her nurturing but determined spirit, her dedication to giving marginalized voices dignity and space—then the animal that most closely matches her personality would likely be a wolf.
What are three words that describe your personality?
Three words to describe Sarah Aldridge: Compassionate. Determined. Visionary.
She gave lesbian stories space to breathe, fought for them to be seen, and imagined a world where lesbian love could thrive—long before it was safe to do so.
What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing, and by whom?
While Sarah Aldridge didn’t leave a formal “writing manual,” her life and work offer a clear guiding principle: Write the stories you need to read, even if no one else is publishing them yet.
She showed queer writers who followed her that their voices matter, that persistence pays off, and that telling authentic stories can change lives.
What author in your genre do you most admire, and why?
Again, we don’t have a recorded “favorite authors” list for Sarah Aldridge. However, her influences seem to have been women writers who explored inner life, social constraints, and relationships with depth and subtlety, combined with a commitment to portraying marginalized voices authentically.
What books did you grow up reading?
Sarah Aldridge was likely inspired by women who dared to explore love, identity, and society—think Jane Austen’s wit, Virginia Woolf’s insight, and Radclyffe Hall’s courage. She carried those torches into lesbian literature with The Latecomer.
Describe your favorite reading spot.
While Sarah Aldridge never mentioned a favorite reading spot, one can only believe it was her beloved Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
