title: Imogene's Eloise: Inspired by a true-love story
author:  Marguerite Quantaine 
description: <span>&quot;This unconventional tale is as refreshingly bold as its lead character, Imogene...the book brims with delightfully eccentric characters...Imogene is a fascinatingly unclassifiable heroine and revels in her resistance to the conventional categories of sexual identity...a thrilling premise and a strong heroine.&quot;<i> -- </i><b><i>Kirkus Review</i></b></span><br /><span>.</span><br /><span><b><i>&quot;</i></b></span><span>WOW. Oh how I wish my publishing house had found this book first! Congrats to Marguerite Quantaine for a marvelously written novel, chock full of delicious detail about the characters and the setting...it&apos;s romantic and heartfelt, but so much more than a satisfying love story. It&apos;s a detailed history of an era, a place, a chosen family of friends who are wickedly funny, deliriously dishy and smart, smart, smart. Not only is the story unique and vivid, but the writing is simply grand. Quantaine&apos;s dialogue alone is genius. This book captures an era brilliantly and puts readers in the midst of closeted (but frisky!) GLBT life in my NYC of the 60s and early 70s.&quot; -- <b><i>A&amp;M Books</i></b></span><br /><span><b><i>.</i></b></span><br /><span>&quot;</span><span>A phenomenal book! I can&apos;t think of when I&apos;ve read a more enchanting book with an ending that took my breath away and made me want to read the sequel immediately. I don&apos;t know why the author took so long to unleash this work on the world, but I am glad she finally did. I am not interested in reading cookie cutter books, and it&apos;s a good thing because this one breaks all the molds. -- <b><i>Bookshop Without Borders</i></b></span><br /><span>.</span><br /><span>&quot;I loved this book and I am looking forward to the rest of the love story. I found it as a recommendation on my Amazon page and did not know anything beyond the description &quot;inspired by a true-love story&quot;. I was enthralled from the beginning, it is a great read. With everything going on in the world today, this story was just want I needed.&quot; -- <b><i>Amazon Is Amazing</i></b></span><br /><span><b><i>.</i></b></span><br /><span>&quot;This book is like a gold coin in a bag of pennies. Not my norm read as I have slogged through many a lesbian romance rolling my eyes. But this book was so masterfully crafted and well paced, so heart felt. It brought true literature to the genre. Great book. Unique voice.&quot; -- <b><i>Stacey Darlington</i></b></span><br /><span><b><i>.</i></b></span><br /><span><b><i>&quot;</i></b>I loved the writing style of this author. It is poetic and shows deep feeling. This book takes you on a journey you won&apos;t soon forget. An author with tremendous talent.&quot;</span><br /><span>-- <b><i>R. K. Mitchell</i></b></span><br /><span><b><i>.</i></b></span><br /><span>&quot;Love at first sight, a beautiful love story that is brilliantly witty, has intelligent, quick dialogue and is set in New York City... What more could one ask of an author. MQ has pulled no punches in this fabulous story of romance, of being gay in the 60s/70s, and doing everything... absolutely everything to nurture lasting love. This story goes in the &quot;will be read again&quot; pile, and I join those readers awaiting the next installment in this great love story.&quot; -- <b><i>G. Ratcliff</i></b></span><br /><span><b><i>.</i></b></span><br /><span></span><br /><span><i>&quot;</i>Quite simply, I loved this book. It transcends genres, being so much more than a lesbian fiction novel. It&apos;s the 100 or so short stories that make up the beginnings of a relationship. The journey of awakening to the new that is first love and the challenges it takes to live one&apos;s life honestly (and safely) in such times. And it sooo left me wanting to read more! Thank you Marguerite Quantaine. Thank you.&quot; -- <b><i>Jenny Lee</i></b></span><br /><span><b><i>.</i></b></span><br /><span></span><br /><span>&quot;A delightful and inspired novel rich in its characters and sublime prose. Smart, funny and poignant, a stellar debut and now we must have more of this talented writer.&quot;</span><br /><span>-- <b><i>Nancy Heredia</i></b></span><br /><span><b><i>.</i></b></span><br /><span></span><br /><span>&quot;I think I held my breath the whole last chapter....GREAT book. Loved it!!!&quot; </span><br /><span>-- <b><i>Deborah L. Simmons</i></b></span><br /><span><b><i>.</i></b></span><br /><span></span><br /><span>&quot;Captures a time and place completely accurately. Heartwarming, funny, moving... The two female &apos;leads&apos; are charming and unique. Hurray for individualistic women who didn&apos;t dress or act like either the gay community or the straight community wanted them to! True feminists in the best sense of the word, women who cared for other women and men, and respected themselves.&quot; -- <b><i>Karen Wood</i></b></span><br />.<span></span>
zlib_text: ![](Images/image00164.jpeg)
  
  _For Lynn Darling_
  
   **CONTENTS**
  
   _Title Page_
  
   _Dedication_
  
   _Epigraph_
  
    
  
   _Part One_
  
   _Chapter 1_
  
   _Chapter 2_
  
   _Chapter 3_
  
   _Chapter 4_
  
   _Chapter 5_
  
   _Chapter 6_
  
   _Chapter 7_
  
   _Chapter 8_
  
   _Chapter 9_
  
   _Part Two_
  
   _Chapter 10_
  
   _Chapter 11_
  
   _Chapter 12_
  
   _Chapter 13_
  
   _Chapter 14_
  
   _Chapter 15_
  
   _Part Three_
  
   _Chapter 16_
  
   _Chapter 17_
  
   _Chapter 18_
  
   _Chapter 19_
  
   _Chapter 20_
  
   _Chapter 21_
  
   _Chapter 22_
  
    
  
   _Acknowledgments_
  
   _Also by Joseph Olshan_
  
   _About the Author_
  
   _Copyright_
  
  _On n’aime bien qu’une seule fois: c’est la première …_
  
   _Jean de La Bruyère_
  
  (The first love is the only love.)
  
   **PART ONE**
  
   **ONE**
  
  IT WAS UNDER AN APPLE TREE that I saw her—up the road on the walk that I’ve
  taken hundreds of times in my life. I noticed her pink parka and thought:
  she’s out here drinking in the unusual warmth of late March; her face to the
  sun, hardy soul she must be, sitting there tanning in a crater of melting
  