QUEER LONDON
Perils and Pleasures in the Sexual Metropolis, 1918-1957
Matt Houlbrook
In August 1934, young Cyril L. wrote to his friend about all the exciting men he had met, the swinging nightclubs he had visited, and the vibrant new life he had forged for himself in the big city. He wrote, “I have only been queer since I came to London about two years ago, before then I knew nothing about it.” London, for Cyril, meant boundless opportunities to explore his new found sexuality. But his freedom was limited: he was soon arrested, simply for being in a club frequented by queer men. Cyril’s story is Houlbrook’s point of entry into early 20th-century homosexual London.
Drawing on previously unknown sources, from police reports to personal letters and diaries, he revisits the diverse lives that took hold in London’s parks and streets; its restaurants, pubs, and dancehalls; and its Turkish bathhouses and hotels.
384 pages, paperback
|
