A Gay History of Britain
- Love and Sex Between Men Since the Middle Ages
Matt Cook et.al.
£ 18.95
Covering nearly a thousand years from the Noman Conquest to the Internet age, this is a study rich in personalities, not only public figures like Richard Lionheart or Derek Jarman, but also little-known individuals such as 'Eleanor', a cross-dresser in Chaucer's England, and Mark Partridge, branded a 'mollying bitch' in eighteenth century London. A Gay History of Britian tells their stories against a shifting historical background of changing laws, fluctuations of popular prejudice, and unexpectedly influential events, such as the coming of the railways.
It also poses some intriguing and crucial questions. Did Richard Lionheart, Eleanor, Mark Partridge and Derek Jarman share a sense of sexual identity? How differently did the mollies of the eighteenth century and the twentieth-century activists of Outrage! think of themeselves? What links and divides - the vivid expression of homosexuality in the playhouses of Renaissance London and the secrets and scandals of Victorian England?
Drawing on a fabulous wealth of research, the authors - each an expert in their field - have worked closely together to deliver a constantly absorbing, highly readable narrative. Broad in its coverage but nuanced in its detail - including never-before-seen illustrations - it is a compelling and eye-opening exploration of the many different ways in which British men have expressed their love and desire for one another.
To order call 0207 278 7654.
'A riveting rollercoaster ride through 1,000 years of British queer history.' Peter Tatchell
To order call 0207 278 7654.
Queer London
- Perils and Pleasures in the Sexual Metropolis 1918-1957
Matt Houlbrook
£ 13.00
A book that will completely change your relationship with and understanding of London. Revealing history remarkable in its complexity yet intimate in its portraiture, this book is a landmark work that redefines queer urban
life in England and beyond. Drawing on previously unknown sources, Houlbrook here explores the relationship between queer sexualities and modern urban culture. He revisits old secret haunts and describes how the capital shaped the culture and politics of queer life and how it was in turn shaped by
the lives of queer men. An extraordinary, insightful, brilliantly researched and important book. To order call 0207 278 7654.
Gay Life and Culture
- A World History
Robert Aldrich [Ed]
£ 24.95
In this extraordinarily wide-ranging book, historians from nine different countries consider the evidence for same-sex relationships throughout the centuries, charting shifting attitudes towards homosexuality and the gradual emergence of a concept of self-identity. Beginning with ancient Greece and Rome, and continuing right up to the present day with its issues of gay rights, AIDS and civil partnerships, this book also considers other, non-Western cultures, revealing the huge variety of same-sex relationships through history and across the globe. From homoerotic Persian poetry to tales of cross-dressing women in 18th-century Italy, from the wild hedonistic delights of between-the-wars Berlin to concepts of a third gender in Asia and Native North America - all are discussed and recounted from memoirs, letters, archives, and works of art and literature. A beautiful hardback book with over two hundred and fifty illustrations.
To order call 0207 278 7654.
Mother Clap's Molly House
The Gay Subculture in England 1700-1830
Rictor Norton
£ 18.99
Recently re-issued this classic and highly sought-after title is now available again! This pioneering historical study is the first comprehensive chronicle of the English gay community at its eighteenth-century roots, sporting for the first time a distinctive subculture with its 'molly houses', 'sodomites' walks', 'maiden names' and gay slang. Rictor Newton's research into trial records and contemporary documents establishes a vital cornerstone for the reconstruction of gay history. Challenging in its demonstration that the molly subculture was primarily a working-class community of blacksmiths, milkmen, publicans and shopkeepers, Mother Clap's Molly House also records the exuberant lives of personalities such as Charles Hitchin the 'thief-taker', the dramatists Samuel Foote and Isaac Bicherstaff, William Beckford of Fonthill, and Rev. John Church, prosecuted for his blessing of gay marriages. All these are set against a backdrop of persecution, blackmail and the pillory. And yes, 'Mother Clap's' actually was the name of a prominent molly house!
Before Homosexuality in the Arab-Islamic World, 1500-1800
Khaled El-Rouayheb
£ 20.50
"This is the best contribution to the history of homosexuality I have read in some time. For centuries, Arab-Islamic cultures have been notorious for their occasional celebration and practice of male homosexuality. Western travelers have talked about it and, in some cases, Western novels and scholarship have portrayed or alluded to it. Yet, there has never been a reliable or systematic treatment of the topic - that is, until now. Working from an impressive range of primary sources that include poetic, theological, Koranic, historical, legal, and literary texts, Khaled El-Rouayheb, with this book, fills an important gap in our knowledge about the nature of attitudes towards male eroticism in the early modern Arab-Islamic world." David M. Halperin, author of 'How to Do the History of Homosexuality'. To order call 0207 278 7654.
Between the Acts
- Lives of Homosexual Men 1885 - 1967
Jeffrey Weeks
Kevin Porter [Ed.]
£ 12.95
Beteen 1885 and 1967 all homosexual acts were illegal in the UK. How did this affect the relationships of gay men? People's lives are complex, contradictory and inconsistent. They can also be rich and passionate; at times lonely, at times exciting. Between the Actsreflects this in the life histories of fifteen homosexual men from across that period. What is special about their stories is that they are told by the men themselves in a series of moving and immensely readable interviews. Their memories and experiences provide exceptional insights into how gay men made sense of their lives and fashioned for themselves manageable personal social identities at a time when it was not possible to be open about thier sexuality. The interviews are with ordinary people from a variety of backgrounds - anmong them a soldier, a priest, a dancer, a civil servant, a teacher and an academic - all with differing political and social attitudes. Reccommended. To order call 0207 278 7654.
From the Closet to the Screen
- Women at the Gateways Club, 1945-85
Jill Gardiner
£ 11.99
Frequented in its 50-year history by ordinary women and those in the public eye such as Dusty Springfield and Maureen Duffy, the Gateways, on Chelsea's King's Road, became the most famous lesbian club in the world after it featured in the Hollywood movie The Killing of Sister George in 1968. Before gay liberation ever hit the headlines, 'Gateways Girls' could be seen on screen dancing cheek to cheek in the underground bohemian haven once patronised by Dylan Thomas and Diana Dors. Now in this, the first full-lenght account of women at the Gateways, 80 contributors recall this secret world, many of them speaking publicly for the first time. Their stories, moving, humorous, romantic and erotic, and a unique selection of photographs, create a vivid picture of lesbian lives during a period of social transformation, when gay women moved from the secrecy of the closet, whatever the consequences. Excellent. To order call 0207 278 7654.
Women Together/Women Apart
-Portraits of Lesbian Paris
Tirza True Latimer
£ 18.50
Latimer explores the revolutionary period between WWI and WWII when lesbian artists working in Paris began to shape the first visual models that gave lesbians a collective sense of identity and allowed them to recognize each other. Flocking to Paris, artists and performers such as Romaine Brooks, Claude Cahun, Marcel Moore, and Suzy Solidor used portraiture to theorize and visualize a 'new breed' of feminine subject. Combining gender theory with visual culture and historical analysis, Latimer draws a vivid picture of the impact of sexual politics on the cultural life of Paris during this key period. The book also illuminates the far-reaching consequences of lesbian portraiture on contemporary constructions of lesbain identity. To order call 0207 278 7654.
The Modern History of Sexuality.
H.G.Cocks and Matt Houlbrook [Eds]
£ 16.99
The new Modern History of Sexuality is accessible yet theoretically informed, detailed yet wide -ranging. Each chapter is thematic and subjects covered include demography, law, marriage, cities, religion, prostitution, race and empire, sexology, pornography, transgender and childhood. An excellent introduction to the history of sex. To order call 0207 278 7654.
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Sodom on the Thames
Morris B. Kaplan
£
19.95
This is a brilliantly illuminating study of sex, love and scandal in Wilde times. "In four detailed case studies, all based on archival work, Morris B. Kaplan explores a complex network of loyal romantic friends, brazen cross-dressers, upper-class male brothels - and astonishing legal decisions. His analysis of Eton College friendships uncovers a potent mixture of politics and sex among the most powerful men of the late nineteenth century. Kaplan is always sensitive to the ways in which the past is a different country, but also strangely familiar to us. In this very readable book, fresh, unexpected connections reveal the pervasive importance of male erotic friendship in the Victorian peroid." Martha Vicinus, University of Michigan. Highly Reccommended. To order call 0207 278 7654.
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Hello Sailor!
The Hidden History of Gay Life at Sea
Paul Baker and Jo Stanley
£
19.99 (HB)
When homosexuality was illegal and gay men were closeted there were few safe places to be. Apart from the theatre, passenger ships provided the only safe space where gay men could be not only out, but outrageously camp. Efficient, able-bodied seamen by day, queens and butches strutted their stuff below deck at night, dressed up as their favourite Hollywood stars. Hello Sailor! opens up a secret world of bold young men having a ball as they sashayed and minced across the world's oceans. Never before has the full story of homsexuality in the British merchant navy been told. With many original photos and featuring a remarkable cast of characters, this groud-breaking book expands and deepens our vision of gay history. To order call 0207 278 7654.
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Stonewall
The Riots That Sparked The Gay Revolution
David Carter
£
9.99
'A terrific piece of nonfiction, a satisfying and illuminating document that will be referred to time and again.'
- The Advocate.
In 1969, a series of riots over police action against the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York's Greenwich Village, changed the landscape of the homosexual in society literally overnight. Since then, the event itself has become the stuff of legend, with relatively little hard information available on the riots themselves. Now, based on hundreds of interviews, an exhaustive search of public and previously sealed files, and over a decade of intensive research into the history and the topic, Stonewall brings this singular event to vivid life in this definitive story. To order call 0207 278 7654.
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Who's Who in Gay and Lesbian History
R. Aldrich and G. Wotherspoon [Eds]
£ 10.99
'As entertaining as it is informative...sets a standard in gay dictionaries and encyclopedias that others should note and follow. Highly recommended'.Gay Times
'A good job of an impossible task, looking beyond the borders of North America, Australia and northern Europe to include people who have made important contributions from outside the gay and lesbian mainstream.'Diva
Comprehensive biographical guide to the key men and women in the history of Western homosexuality. Covers famous, notorious and previously unsknown figures across royalty, politics, the arts, medicine, religion and more. Fully cross-referenced. This is an ideal book for anyone with an interest in the history of gay and lesbian culture. To order call 0207 278 7654.
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Homosexualities
Stephen O. Murray
£ 20.00
'An indispensable resource on same-sex sexual relationships and their social contexts...Essential reading.'Choice
In Homosexualities, one of the world's leading authorities on global homosexualities has produced a magnum opus. Breathtaking in its historical and geographical scope, Stephen O.Murray's landmark work provides a sweeping examination of the constuction of male and female homosexualities, stressing both the variability of the forms same-sex desire can take and the key recurring patterns it has formed throughout history. From imperial China to Tudor England, and from medieval Egypt to the Ottoman Empire to modern Japan, Murray expertly explores the full range of both behaviour and meaning in same-sex relationships. To order call 0207 278 7654.
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This is a funny book looking into the serious way homosexual men have shaped American culture, things it look into are - Why were many of the greatest playwrites of the last half of the twentieth century - Tennessee Williams, Lanford Wilson, Terrence McNally, Edward Albee - all gay men writing for straight audience? The gay sensibility has always shaped heterosexual culture, a fact that the straight community is only now beginning to notice and admit. To order call 0207 278 7654.
