Finistère

Hailed as “an undiscovered LGBTQ classic” (Matt Donnelly, Variety), Fritz Peters’ 1951 novel “Finistère” is getting a worldwide re-release in June 2024 from publishers Hirsch Giovanni. Despite being a bestseller in its time with over 350,000 copies sold, “Finistère” has largely fallen out of public consciousness. A pioneering work of queer literature, “Finistère” was one of the first to depict the tragedy of gay life as rooted in society’s rejection and misunderstanding of the Other rather than in the perceived immoral behavior of its protagonist.

Originally published in 1951, “Finistère” is Fritz Peters’ LGBTQ masterpiece. The book follows a young man who falls in love with his teacher.

Meet the Hirsch Giovanni team…

CHRISTOPHER ADAMS is a British-American playwright and screenwriter based in the UK. His plays include Cooked (Bread & Roses Theatre, 2015), Antigone (Actors of Dionysus, 2017), and Tumulus (VAULT, 2018 | Soho Theatre, 2019). He currently has a television project in development with FilmNation and a film project in development with Hirsch Giovanni.

Christopher was a member of the Royal Court Theatre’s Young Writers Programme (2011) and Studio Writers Group (2013), the Arcola Theatre’s writing group (2015), and the Orange Tree Collective (2015-2016). His full-length and short plays have been performed in London, Birmingham, Dublin, and Shanghai. His plays Lynchburg (2013) and Haunts (2015) were long-listed for the Bruntwood Prize.

In his academic life, Christopher holds a PhD in mid-twentieth century queer publishing history from the Institute of English Studies, University of London. He is a co-editor of The Collected Works of John Ford: Volumes II & III (OUP). He teaches on the ‘Introduction to the Principles of Descriptive Bibliography’ course at Rare Book School (University of Virginia), and has written on John Ford for the Globe Theatre. He is a U.S. Fulbright Scholar.

ALEXANDRA CARBONE is a graduate of Haverford College. She is Creative Executive at Hirsch Giovanni Entertainment, where she is documentarian for Unapologetically Fritz, and managing editor for the Fritz Peters Collection.