QUEER ENLIGHTENMENTS

Honoring queer people who lived during the Enlightenment era.

In his dynamic, informative debut, Irish historian Delaney unearths queer life from three centuries ago in wide-ranging profiles in gender, race, and notoriety. Spanning 1726 to 1836, the book spotlights a diverse host of tenacious, enterprising revolutionaries, beginning with the much-scrutinized, domesticated “queer family romance” between British noblemen Lord Hervey and Henry Fox. This theme is shared by English architect John Chute, whose relationships with a “coterie of unmarried men helped shape the nature of his domestic comfort” and became part of a “wider proto-queer community.” Delaney profiles the Chevalier d’Éon, a French spy and diplomat who often favored his uniquely dressed “female self” and a rebellious Black gender-variant sex worker named Peter Sewally, who worked under the name Mary Jones. Milkman Gabriel Lawrence, who frequented London’s risky “molly houses,” was executed at age 43 for the crime of sodomy with another man after a raid on a coffeehouse known for homosexual rendezvous. Delaney weaves these fascinating histories into a tapestry of resistance and resilience. He doesn’t sugarcoat the more unsavory archival details, and he corrects misconceptions, which include writing that Anne Lister’s celebrated formal union in 1834 with her partner, Ann Walker, was actually “a far more complex affair” than previous accounts say, depicting Lister as manipulatively “tactical.” A comprehensive, fair, and well-rounded study, the book paints the era as one of burgeoning liberation for queer people and illuminates a selection of distinguished trailblazers tenacious enough to sidestep conservative laws in order to freely enjoy same-sex desires and live authentically. These rather obscure pioneers helped usher in forthcoming eras of queer visibility, social justice, legal and political emancipation, and ultimately, advancements toward equality.

A vibrant and inspirational queer history.