Where exactly is queer England? There has been much discussion of London as a queer city, but what about the many thousands of queer lives lived elsewhere? From Manchester's bars and nightclubs, to Brighton's seafront, the attractions of Leeds to the dockside delights of Plymouth, in Queer Beyond London two leading LGBTQ historians will take you on a journey through four cities with rich and diverse queer histories. They show how geography, size, economy, city government and local history and culture shaped LGBTQ life in these places, each city forging a vibrant queer culture of its own. Using the pioneering community histories that have been produced in each of these cities, and including the voices of queer people who have made their lives there, the book tells local stories to change our national history. -- .

About the Author
Matt Cook is a Professor of Modern History at Birkbeck, University of London. He has contributed to a range of community LGBTQ+ projects and has published widely on queer history Alison Oram is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London. -- .

Reviews

'A rich celebration of the everyday LGBTQ stories that have been shaped by - and have helped to shape - modern English urban life. Insightful, inspiring, and completely fascinating.'
Sarah Waters, author of Tipping the Velvet and The Paying Guests

'Being queer is all about change: longing for it, fighting for it - and surviving it. This brilliantly detailed tour of the last fifty years of LGBTQ+ culture and lives in four great English cities digs down through the layers of history and geography and gets to the real nuts and bolts of our experiences. A real labour of love - and quite an achievement.'
Neil Bartlett, author of Ready to Catch Him Should He Fall and Address Book

'This is a book I didn't know we needed quite so badly! It provides a riveting account of LGBTQ+ people forging new lives, creating new communities, and navigating prejudice and discrimination. It is beautifully written, and a splendid example of how oral history enriches previously untold stories.'
Dr Clare Summerskill, academic, writer and comedian

'This book took me back to my teenage years in Brighton, Manchester, Leeds, Bristol and beyond where I sought out the bars where I could belong even though elsewhere we were illegal. A world of laughter, despair, love, openness, belonging and making whoopee.'
Michael Cashman, actor, founder member of Stonewall, and member of the House of Lords

'History should never tell just one story, and this timely book challenges the reader to think beyond a single, London-centric timeline of queer history in England since the 1960s. A 'must-read' for cultural historians, queer or not.'
Jane Traies, author of The Lives of Older Lesbians: Sexuality, Identity and the Life Course, and Now You See Me: Lesbian Life Stories?

'This book tells a fascinating and compelling story. It takes us to places we know and love, and to some we didn't know so much about. It tells local stories, personal stories, human stories. It completes the nation's queer jigsaw. It's a must-read.'
Chris Smith, Britain's first openly gay MP, former cabinet minister, and member of the House of Lords

'This is a rich and thought-provoking study which provides a more nuanced and more representative history that challenges national narratives and draws our attention to how locality not only shaped queer life in the past, but also emotions, memory, and community in the present. The methodology, rigorous research, and attention to hitherto overlooked stories, people, and places that underpin this book makes it an important contribution to the field, and one that should stimulate exciting further research into Britain's queer past beyond London.'
CLAIRE MARTIN, Northern History

-- .



Book Information
ISBN 9781526145864
Author Matt Cook
Format Hardback
Page Count 376
Imprint Manchester University Press
Publisher Manchester University Press