Some Men in London: Queer Lives 1945-1967
Peter Parker’s acclaimed two-volume anthology uncovers the rich reality of life for queer men in London, from the end of the Second World War to decriminalization in 1967. 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. Peter explores what it was actually like for queer men in London in this period, whether they were well known figures such as Francis Bacon, Joe Orton and Kenneth Williams, or living lives of quiet anonymity in pubs, clubs, more public places of assignation, or at home. Peter’s research encompasses 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, resulting in the landmark 1967 act decriminalising homosexuality.
