Reimagining the Family

Reimagining the Family is the first book-length study of representations of lesbian mothering in French literature. Focusing on female-authored texts published between 1970 and 2013, the book explores how literature reflects, engages with and even anticipates the recent, highly charged debates on the rights of same-sex couples in France.

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«Reimagining the Family is a ground-breaking volume that brings together important literary voices. Robert Payne explores literary representations of lesbian mothering with sensitivity, depth and rigour. This highly innovative, well-researched and well-written book will be essential reading for researchers across a wide spectrum of fields.»
(Professor Natalie Edwards, The University of Adelaide)


«Reimagining the Family: Lesbian Mothering in Contemporary French Literature is the first study of lesbian mothering in French literature, providing a valuable contribution to studies in LGBT+ literature, women’s writing, and mothering among others. The book is thoughtful, well-researched, and creates a foundation upon which future explorations of lesbian or queer parenting in French literature will be built.» (Jessica Garcés Jensen, H-France Review Vol. 23 (March 2023), No. 42)





Reimagining the Family is the first book-length study of representations of lesbian mothering in French literature. Focusing on female-authored texts published between 1970 and 2013, the book explores how literature reflects, engages with and even anticipates the recent, highly charged debates on the rights of same-sex couples and parents in France. Centred around the notion of «reimagining», the book examines how literature interrogates the normative definition of the family as a heterosexual, biological unit. It discusses a range of themes, including the difficulty of reconciling lesbianism with mothering, the role of the father, the identity of the co-mother and issues of difference and equality. The corpus includes both well-known and previously unstudied authors, and covers a range of genres, from autobiography to popular fiction. Collectively, the texts offer privileged insights into the increasingly relevant experiences of lesbian mothers and illustrate the changing face of the family in twenty-first-century France.