 rubyfruit jungle is the first novel by rita mae brown, published in 1973. it was remarkable, in its day, for its explicit portrayal of lesbianism. the novel is a coming-of-age autobiographical (some have suggested picaresque) account of brown's youth and emergence as a lesbian author. the term "rubyfruit jungle" is slang for the female genitals. ==plot summary== the novel focuses on molly bolt, the adopted daughter of a poor family, who possesses remarkable beauty and who is aware of her lesbianism from early childhood. her relationship with her mother is rocky, and at a young age her mother, referred to as "carrie," informs molly that she is not her own biological child but a "bastard." molly has her first same-sex sexual relationship in the sixth grade with her friend leota b. bisland, and then again in a florida high school, where she has another sexual relationship with another friend, the school's head cheerleader carolyn simpson, who willingly has sex with molly but rejects the "lesbian" label. molly also engages in sex with males, including her cousin leroy when the two were younger. her father, carl, dies when she is in her junior year of high school. in a combination of her strong-willed nature and disdain for carrie, molly pushes herself to excel in high school, winning a full scholarship to the university of florida. unlike carrie, carl had always supported molly's goals and education. however, when molly's relationship with her alcoholic roommate is discovered, she is denied a renewal of her scholarship. possessing little money, she moves to new york to pursue an education in filmmaking. upon reaching new york, she realizes that the rubyfruit is maybe not as delicious and varied as she had dreamed within the concrete jungle. ==literary significance and criticism== ===parallels with personal life=== in 1955, when brown was 11 years old, her family moved to fort lauderdale, florida, where she attended high school and experimented sexually with boys and girls. when brown was 16, her girlfriend's father found her love letters, and brown was dismissed from the student council. in the 1960s, brown 
1973_novels 20th-century_American_novels American_LGBT_novels American_bildungsromans Debut_novels Lesbian_novels Novels_set_in_Florida Picaresque_novels