Includes bibliographical references (pages 195-219) and index

1. London and the cities of the plain; 'The sweepings of Sodom': London, 1700-1914; 'Rebuilding the cities of the plain': London, 1885-1914 -- 2. The grossly indecent city; The law and the press; Bodies, streets and perfumed rooms; 'Lifting the veil' on vice -- 3. The inverted city; The city and sexual pathology; Metropolitan case studies; Erotic anthropology -- 4. The decadent city; 'Against nature'; Dorian Gray and Teleny's decadent outings; The decadent menace -- 5. The Hellenic city; London, Athens and the rural idyll; Reform and the urban scene -- Public spaces/private lives

Matt Cook explores the relationship between London and homosexuality from 1885 to 1914, years marked by intensification in concern about male-male relationships and also by the emergence of an embryonic homosexual rights movement. Cook combines his coverage of London's homosexual subculture and various major and minor scandals with a detailed examination of representations in the press, science and literature. This conjunction of approaches distinguishes this study from other works and provides new insight into the development of ideas about homosexuality during the period

plus-circle Add Review

comment

Reviews