Quite simply this book is a work of genius - Matthew Parris The Spectator An absolutely
extraordinary book ... a huge collage and anthology of diaries letters memoirs newspaper
reports trial documents all of this about actually what life was like for homosexual men in
London in the 1940s and the 1950s... It's amazing because the collage effect gives you a sense
of the extreme complexity of this picture - Dominic Sandbrook An intriguing collage of the
era's mood - Robbie Millen The Times The first part of a major new anthology which uncovers
the rich reality of life for queer men in London In the 1940s it was believed that
homosexuality had been becoming more widespread in the aftermath of war. A moral panic ensued
centred around London as the place to which gay men gravitated. In a major new anthology Peter
Parker explores what it was actually like for queer men in London in this period whether they
were well-known figures such as John Gielgud 'Chips' Channon and E.M. Forster or living lives
of quiet - or occasionally rowdy - anonymity in pubs clubs more public places of assignation
or at home. It is rich with letters diaries psychological textbooks novels films plays and
police records covering a wide range of viewpoints from those who deplored homosexuality to
those who campaigned for its decriminalisation. This first volume from 1945 to 1959 details a
community forced to live at constant risk of blackmail or prison. Yet it also shows a thriving
and joyous subculture one that enriched a mainstream culture often ignorant of its debt to gay
creators. Some Men In London is a testament to queer life which was always much more complex
than newspapers governments and the Metropolitan Police Force imagined.
