"In Brave smiles ...another Lesbian tragedy, master satirists the Five Lesbian Brothers turn their merciless eyes on the history of lesbians in theater, film, and literature. From their dismal yet erotically charged beginnings at the orphanage under the grip of a sadistic headmistress, our five heroines cross continents and a century to face their absurdly tragic ends. Along the way, they experience alcoholism, suicide, loneliness, pill popping, blacklisting, and a malignant brain tumor. Students of the lesbian art of misery will recognize gleeful skewerings of The Well of Loneliness, The Group, Maedchen in Uniform, and The Children's Hour in this rollicking, hilarious, and smart multicharacter classic"--P. [4] of cover.