The Last List of Mabel Beaumont

Pearson’s novel is rooted in the social landscape of mid-20th-century Britain, a period defined by rigid gender expectations and the severe stigmatization of being gay. During World War II, women supported the war effort by taking on traditionally male roles in the workplace; however, in the postwar period, a cultural push emerged to return women to domestic roles, reinforcing the idea that a woman’s ultimate fulfillment lay in marriage and motherhood. This societal pressure is central to Mabel’s life choices; after the death of her brother, she married Arthur because it was the expected and secure path. Her reflection that she “wouldn’t find a kinder or more generous man to spend [her] life with” underscores a decision based on social acceptability rather than passion, a choice that led to decades of quiet regret (39).

This pressure to conform was compounded by the era’s religious condemnation and legal criminalization of same-sex relationships. The efforts of organizations that campaigned for complete decriminalization, such as the Homosexual Law Reform Society in the 1950s, led to the Sexual Offences Act of 1967, which partially decriminalized private gay acts between men over 21 in England and Wales (lesbianism was never a criminal offence in England). However, as same-sex relationships remained socially taboo, the prevailing climate of shame and secrecy forced relationships like Mabel and Dot’s underground. Dot’s abrupt disappearance before Mabel’s wedding can be understood as a flight from a society that offered no space for their love. The novel contrasts this oppressive past with the contemporary setting, where various pushes for LGBTQ+ rights and several waves of the feminist movement have made being gay mainstream enough for teenage Erin to be much more open about her sexuality. Although the UK’s legalization of same-sex marriage in 2013 reflected significant legal and social progress, Erin’s struggle with her mother’s religious disapproval demonstrates that prejudice persists, creating a parallel between the generations.