Rule, Jane Vance

▪ 2008

      American-born Canadian novelist, essayist, and short-story writer

born March 28, 1931, Plainfield, N.J.

died Nov. 27, 2007, Galiano Island, B.C.

was known for her exploration of lesbian themes. Upon graduation (1952) from Mills College, Oakland, Calif., Rule studied briefly at University College, London, and Stanford University. After moving in 1956 to Canada, she served (1959–72) as a lecturer in English and creative writing at the University of British Columbia, where she also taught women's groups. She began to write full-time in 1974. Rule's characters were usually rewarded for following their hearts and punished for emotional cowardice. Desert of the Heart (1964; filmed as Desert Hearts, 1984), Rule's first, best-known novel, was considered a classic of lesbian literature; it traced the lives of two women, separated by age and background, who meet at a boardinghouse and fall in love. In contrast, This Is Not for You (1970) was written as an (unmailed) letter to the narrator's best friend, whose love she denies at the cost of her own happiness. Rule's other novels included Against the Season (1971), The Young in One Another's Arms (1977), Contract with the World (1980), Memory Board (1987), and After the Fire (1989). She also published three volumes of short stories and two collections of essays.

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