Henry Blake Fuller

Bertram Cope's Year Henry Blake Fuller

Henry Blake Fuller (1857 - 1929) was an American novelist and short story writer. Fuller was from Chicago and his novel The Cliffdwellers is set in a skyscraper in Chicago. This was the first novel to investigate the social life in the high-rise environment. Fuller's most notable novel is Bertram Cope's Year (1919), a subtle novel about homosexuals in Chicago. The work puzzled critics and embarrasses his friends. In the last part of the 20th century it received enthusiastic reviews and is receiving the serious attention it deserves. Cope is a young college professor just arrived in a fictional town, which was modeled after Evanston, Illinois. Lemoyne moves in with Cope and although the novel never explicitly discusses their relationship it is often implied. They are a happy couple, their domestic tranquility only interrupted by Lemoyne's penchant for amateur theatrics. Performing in an all-male musical comedy, Lemoyne's female impersonation is a little too good. After he makes a pass at a straight actor and is hounded from both his studies and his job.