An Anglo-American Alliance: A Serio-Comic Romance and Forecast of the Future

An Anglo-American Alliance: A Serio-Comic Romance and Forecast of the Future (1906) is a novel by Gregory Casparian. Written while the author, an Armenian-Turkish artist, was living in New York City, An Anglo-American Alliance: A Serio-Comic Romance and Forecast of the Future is a recently rediscovered work of fiction that was far ahead of its time in its representation of queer identities. Considered the first work of science fiction to portray lesbian characters, Casparian's novel is an important text that deserves a wider audience. In 1960, the United States and Great Britain are unmatched in power, having expanded their colonial programs worldwide. Although science, technology, and medicine have advanced greatly, culture has been relatively slow in keeping up. Amid this atmosphere of excitement and change, two young women attending a prestigious boarding school have fallen in love. Aurora Cunningham and Margaret MacDonald, English and American respectively, each born to prominent political families, feel a mutual attraction unlike any they have known. Although they live somewhat openly on campus, they know that graduation will come between them, forcing each to return to their countries to marry respectable men. Distraught, Margaret turns to Dr. Ben Raaba, a surgeon offering an extremely experimental procedure that will turn her into a man, allowing the two lovers to be together for the rest of their lives.

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Gregory Casparian (1856-1942) was an Armenian painter, photoengraver, and writer. Born in Turkey, he is known for his novel An Anglo-American Alliance: A Serio-Comic Romance and Forecast of the Future (1906), a groundbreaking work of science fiction that portrays lesbian and transgender themes and characters, uncommon for its time. While little is known about Casparian, he emigrated from Turkey to New York City, where his novel was published, in 1877. There he found work at an engineering firm and pursued his interests in writing and the visual arts.