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A review by ebenelephant
Queer City: Gay London from the Romans to the Present Day by Peter Ackroyd
challenging
dark
informative
fast-paced
2.75
I kind of wish that this book was worth more than a rating of 2.75, if I'm completely honest.
Certainly, I learnt a lot and found myself quite entertained at times, and the fast paced writing that some people disliked I found easy to follow and easy to focus on.
However I was promised "Queer City: Gay London from the Romans to Present Day," and I don't think that this book delivered.
For one, the word "Queer" is hardly appropriate, as this book hardly actually delves into queer lives. Ackroyd allows for only two chapters discussing historical lesbianism (which are arguably the better chapters), and most of the relationships between men are lost in pages and pages of sexual violence.
Most mentions of historical character who could, potentially, have been transgender or genderqueer (people living as the gender opposite to their assigned sex for any reason, some marrying that way and living entire lifetimes as such, some changing how they presented themselves at whim) were viewed with what felt to me like thinly-veiled transphobia. When referring to topics like that it would feel pertinent to use they/them pronouns, yet as far as I can recall Ackroyd continually referred to people by the names and pronouns they were given at birth, which to me feels like... an odd choice.
Another reason why this book fails to hold up to my expectations is because, as I've mentioned, a large portion of it is taken up with anecdotes about sexual violence, pedophilia, pederasty, sexual assault, and rape. These are not queer issues. A man who coerces an adolescent into sexual activities isn't a queer man, he is a predator, and I find it frankly a bit disturbing that the author made no attempt to differentiate the two, especially given the prevalent idea that queer men are dangerous for that very reason.
Another thing worth mentioning is that while the information in this book is easy enough to understand, the author offers little to no contextualization or analysis which explain what it is that makes London itself a 'queer city', rather than just like any other city large enough for people to find like minded individuals.
Many reviews have already mentioned that the pacing is slightly odd, with a lot of focus being given to the 18th century and hardly any to the 20th and 21st, however this can be charitably handwaived away with the excuse that these time periods are both frequently discussed and very much alive in recent memory.
With that said, the last few pages left me with a distasteful feeling when I put down the book, as the author seemed to rally against gender and sexuality fluidity, the concept of privilege, and the notion of queer folk of the present wanting to settle down and have happy, quiet, domestic lives.
As I said, I really, really wish that this book was better. For a second it looked that way. The first few chapters look at the Romans, Anglo Saxons, and knights of the 12th century; all topics in history that you would expect to find pedophilia and rape. After that, the author begins to tell a story of a love between two men, and I had thought that would be more like the tone that the book would follow, largely speaking, from then on. However, it quickly devolved back into admittedly informative, but still largely unpleasant and with very little to do with queerness, tales of sexual violence, which is a fascinating topic, but completely not what was advertised.
I wouldn't recommend 'Queer City' to anybody genuinely wanting to learn about the queer history of London.
Certainly, I learnt a lot and found myself quite entertained at times, and the fast paced writing that some people disliked I found easy to follow and easy to focus on.
However I was promised "Queer City: Gay London from the Romans to Present Day," and I don't think that this book delivered.
For one, the word "Queer" is hardly appropriate, as this book hardly actually delves into queer lives. Ackroyd allows for only two chapters discussing historical lesbianism (which are arguably the better chapters), and most of the relationships between men are lost in pages and pages of sexual violence.
Most mentions of historical character who could, potentially, have been transgender or genderqueer (people living as the gender opposite to their assigned sex for any reason, some marrying that way and living entire lifetimes as such, some changing how they presented themselves at whim) were viewed with what felt to me like thinly-veiled transphobia. When referring to topics like that it would feel pertinent to use they/them pronouns, yet as far as I can recall Ackroyd continually referred to people by the names and pronouns they were given at birth, which to me feels like... an odd choice.
Another reason why this book fails to hold up to my expectations is because, as I've mentioned, a large portion of it is taken up with anecdotes about sexual violence, pedophilia, pederasty, sexual assault, and rape. These are not queer issues. A man who coerces an adolescent into sexual activities isn't a queer man, he is a predator, and I find it frankly a bit disturbing that the author made no attempt to differentiate the two, especially given the prevalent idea that queer men are dangerous for that very reason.
Another thing worth mentioning is that while the information in this book is easy enough to understand, the author offers little to no contextualization or analysis which explain what it is that makes London itself a 'queer city', rather than just like any other city large enough for people to find like minded individuals.
Many reviews have already mentioned that the pacing is slightly odd, with a lot of focus being given to the 18th century and hardly any to the 20th and 21st, however this can be charitably handwaived away with the excuse that these time periods are both frequently discussed and very much alive in recent memory.
With that said, the last few pages left me with a distasteful feeling when I put down the book, as the author seemed to rally against gender and sexuality fluidity, the concept of privilege, and the notion of queer folk of the present wanting to settle down and have happy, quiet, domestic lives.
As I said, I really, really wish that this book was better. For a second it looked that way. The first few chapters look at the Romans, Anglo Saxons, and knights of the 12th century; all topics in history that you would expect to find pedophilia and rape. After that, the author begins to tell a story of a love between two men, and I had thought that would be more like the tone that the book would follow, largely speaking, from then on. However, it quickly devolved back into admittedly informative, but still largely unpleasant and with very little to do with queerness, tales of sexual violence, which is a fascinating topic, but completely not what was advertised.
I wouldn't recommend 'Queer City' to anybody genuinely wanting to learn about the queer history of London.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence
Minor: Suicide