Queer City

by Peter Ackroyd

2020-11-23 20:26:11

Peter Ackroyd is our preeminent chronicler of London. In Queer City, he looks at the metropolis in a whole new way - through the history and experiences of its gay population. In Roman Londinium the penis was worshipped and homosexuality was conside... Read more
Peter Ackroyd is our preeminent chronicler of London. In Queer City, he looks at the metropolis in a whole new way - through the history and experiences of its gay population.

In Roman Londinium the penis was worshipped and homosexuality was considered admirable. The city was dotted with lupanaria ('wolf dens' or public pleasure houses), fornices (brothels) and thermiae (hot baths). Then came the Emperor Constantine, with his bishops and clergy, monks and missionaries. His rule was accompanied by the first laws against queer practices.

What followed was an endless loop of alternating permissiveness and censure, from the notorious Normans, whose military might depended on masculine loyalty, and the fashionable female transvestism of the 1620s; to the frenzy of executions for sodomy in the early 1800s and the 'gay plague' in the 1980s.

Ackroyd takes us right into this hidden city, celebrating its diversity, thrills and energy on the one hand; but reminding us of its very real terrors, dangers and risks on the other. In a city of superlatives, it is perhaps this endless sexual fluidity and resilience that epitomise the real triumph of London.

'Peter Ackroyd is the greatest living chronicler of London' Independent

Less

Book Details

File size7.8 X 5.3 X 0.7 in
Print pages272
PublisherRandom House UK
Publication date June 26, 2018
LanguageEnglish
ISBN9780099592945
Peter Ackroyd, CBE, FRSL (born 5 October 1949) is an English biographer, novelist and critic with a particular interest in the history and culture of London. For his novels about English history and c...

Compare Prices

Store Availability Book Format Condition Price
Indigo Books & Music In Stock Buy CAD 35.95
Indigo Books & Music In Stock Hard Cover Hard Cover Buy CAD 26.77
Indigo Books & Music In Stock Paperback Paperback Buy CAD 21.07
BetterWorld.com - New, Used, Rare Books & Textbooks In Stock Buy USD 15.52
Indigo Books & MusicIn Stock
Format
Condition
Buy CAD 35.95
Indigo Books & MusicIn Stock
Format
Hard Cover
Condition
Hard Cover
Buy CAD 26.77
Indigo Books & MusicIn Stock
Format
Paperback
Condition
Paperback
Buy CAD 21.07
BetterWorld.com - New, Used, Rare Books & TextbooksIn Stock
Format
Condition
Buy USD 15.52
Available Discount
No Discount available

Join us and get access to all
your favourite books

Sign up for free and start exploring thousands of eBooks today.

Sign up for free