History Hit podcast presenter Dr Anthony Delaney reveals the real people that inspired
Gentleman Jack and the gay romances in Bridgerton long written out of the nation's story and
now lovingly restored. 'A page turner one could as easily read on a beach as in a library...
Utterly riveting' Irish Independent 'In this moving and revelatory book Anthony Delaney
gives a voice to women and men whose lives have been written out of history' Hallie Rubenhold
author of The Five and Story of a Murder Mother Clap's Holborn coffee house is open to all
comers a place of companionship and community until a tip-off leads to a midnight raid. Two
women exiled from their families set up a utopian homestead in a remote Welsh cottage
inspiring a generation of Romantic poets. The celebrated Chevalier d'Éon soldier diplomat
and spy challenges a rival to a fencing match. The sweepstake is not over who will win but
whether the Chevalier is a man or a woman. In this dazzling work of restorative history Dr
Anthony Delaney has traced the stories of people daring to challenge society's expectations
unearthing archives and court records to reveal the tragedies and the joys of queer life three
centuries ago. Breathing new life into the forgotten and offering radical new interpretations
of celebrated figures such as Anne Lister Queer Georgians is an invitation to view our shared
history in a whole new light. 'Reading this hitherto hidden history was a revelation. I was
utterly enthralled from the first page to the last.' Tracy Borman Chief Historian Historic
Royal Palaces and author of The Private Lives of the Tudors 'Anthony Delaney has opened the
closet door of Jane Austen's England and found people of every style - criminalised in their
own time ignored by ours heroically finding their own ways.' Philippa Gregory author of
Normal Women
