Bayard Taylor 
Joseph and His Friend 
America’s First Gay Novel

‘Joseph and His Friend: A Story of Pennsylvania’ is an novel by American author Bayard Taylor, a prolific writer in many genres. It presented a special attachment between two men and discussed the nature and significance of such a relationship, romantic but not sexual. Critics are divided in interpreting Taylor’s novel as a political argument for gay relationships or an idealization of male spirituality. The book was not well received and became the author’s least successful and most disliked novel. However, in recent years it has regained popularity as America’s first gay novel.

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Bayard Taylor (1825-1878) was the author of first American gay novel. He was also was a poet, literary critic, translator, travel author, and diplomat.