Turned down by major presses and agents, the book was finally published by a small feminist press and later purchased by Bantam Books for a wider release. Her first published novel was entitled Rubyfruit Jungle. In 1971 she published a book of poetry, The Hand That Cradles the Rock, and a translation of works from the original Latin, Hrotsvitra: Six Medieval Plays. Also she founded and edited the feminist research journal Quest. In 1971 she was instrumental in forming the Furies, a lesbian and feminist group. She became interested in several feminist and lesbian rights groups. In the late 1960s, Brown turned her attention to politics. She also holds a doctorate in Political Science from the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C. Later she received another degree in Cinematography from the New York School of Visual Arts. She later moved to New York and attended New York University, where she received a degree in Classics and English. She attended the University of Florida, but was expelled for her participation in a civil rights rally. Rita Mae Brown was born in Pennsylvania in 1944 and moved to Florida during her adolescence. The book is unique within the picaresque tradition in that both the protagonist and the author are female. Rubyfruit Jungle fits into the tradition of the picaresque novel, which typically follows the adventures of a socially or financially marginalized protagonist, such as Huck Finn in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884). Many of the events and characters in the book draw from Brown's own early years. Her relationships with other women are also a major source of focus and conflict in the novel.
Starting with her childhood in Pennsylvania, the book follows her adolescence in Florida and her later adventures in New York. Rubyfruit Jungle chronicles the life of a young woman named Molly Bolt. In 1977 the book was reissued by Bantam Books and went on to sell over one million copies. When a small feminist press published Rita Mae Brown's Rubyfruit Jungle in 1973, the novel sold 70,000 copies despite being almost completely ignored by reviewers at major magazines and periodicals.
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