James Baldwin tended to write controversial novels, and
Giovanni's Room was definitely controversial when it was published in 1956.
Baldwin was born in Harlem, NY in 1924. In his teens, he worked as a Pentecostal preacher, under the influence of his father. Yet as he grew older, he moved away from the influence of the church. He found himself an apartment in the artist's district of Greenwich Village, NY and then, in 1948, in part due to the alienation he felt as a gay black man, he moved to Paris.
Baldwin's literary reputation bloomed with his semi-autobiographical first novel,
Go Tell It on the Mountain, published in 1953. He wrote several other works before
Giovanni's Room, all of which dealt with the experience of being a black man in America before the
Civil Rights Movement.
During this time, Baldwin also had a love affair with a man named Lucien Happersberger, an experience upon which he must have drawn for
Giovanni's Room. The two became very close, but after several years, Lucien married a woman. Baldwin dedicated
Giovanni's Room to Lucien.
Giovanni's Room was completed in 1956 and presented for publication. Upon finishing the manuscript, Baldwin's publisher suggested that he might as well burn the book due to its focus on a romantic relationship between two men. As an African American writer, Baldwin was already rebelling against the racial prejudices of his time. Now, by writing about his sexuality, the publisher feared that he would even further alienate his audience – both black and white.
The book stirred up a great deal of controversy when it was released. However, the critics proclaimed it a masterpiece, and it is still recognized as such today. Even in the 21st century, it is one of the few widely accepted books to openly deal with a same-sex relationship in a direct and complex way.