Queer City

Gay London from the Romans to the Present Day

De: Peter Ackroyd

Narrado por: Will Watt

In Queer City, the acclaimed Peter Ackroyd looks at London in a whole new way - through the complete history and experiences of its gay and lesbian population. In Roman Londinium, the city was dotted with lupanaria (“wolf dens” or public pleasure houses), fornices (brothels), and thermiae (hot baths). Then came the Emperor Constantine, with his bishops, monks, and missionaries. And so began an endless loop of alternating permissiveness and censure. Ackroyd takes us right into the hidden history of the city; from the notorious Normans to the frenzy of executions for sodomy in the early 19th century. He journeys through the coffee bars of 60s Soho to gay liberation, disco music, and the horror of AIDS. Ackroyd reveals the hidden story of London, with its diversity, thrills, and energy, as well as its terrors, dangers, and risks, and in doing so, explains the origins of all English-speaking gay culture.

©2018 Peter Ackroyd (P)2018 Abrams Press

Be Gay, Do Crimes: A History

I began listening to this audiobook for some research. It quickly evolved into bingeing this book to which I think everyone should listen. The narrator is truly excellent; you can practically hear his coy smirking. One could easily retitle this history as "Be Gay, Do Crimes: A History". I've learned an incredible amount and been entertained all the way, all while finding a new connection to my queer ancestors I never knew before. 11/10 Will read again and again and again. 🏳️‍🌈

Another Masterpiece

I have been reading as many books by Peter Ackroyd as possible. They are all wonderful works. This audiobook was no exception. The reading was top notch and I listened with great interest to every nuance.

Interesting and insightful

Peter Ackroyd writes an interesting book chock full of details about queer people that populated London. He writes about what is what like for queer men and women to live and survive in metropolitan London. Will Watt brings a studious book to life with his excellent performance and the variety of voices throughout the book. Will makes the book fascinating, funny and sad in various measures.

Fascinating and informative

I love this book, although it's obviously very much a survey and a pop history, it includes loads of information that make for great jumping off points for further research. The reader's voice is lovely and he reads at just the right pace though the audio did seem to repeat now and then at occasional points in the text. Lots of fun, lots of great historical anecdotes that give one a greater appreciation for gay history.

Despite a fascinating topic and fantastic narration, a poorly executed (and dull!) book

First an ode to Will Watt, who I adore as a narrator. How I love thee! Despite his best efforts, he couldn't make this book compelling to me. He's the only reason why I did not stop reading the book in the first chapters (I stopped about half way through and couldn't finish). How can you make a history of queer London dull? By listing a bunch of facts, locations, dates and quotes, without putting them in historical/geographical/sociological perspective or inserting even a modicum of storytelling. Sure, there were lots of artworks, books, letters, and other writings describing queer life in London - but citing them one after the other in somewhat-related chapters doesn't make for compelling historical non-fiction. Tell a story! When talking about James I and De Villiers, why only cite from their letters but not delve into De Villiers enormous political power and clout (until his ultimate fall from grace). It seems to be a very queer story that would have been worth taking a deeper dive into, even for a few more pages. That's just one example. Oh and when listing a bunch of facts /quotes about men's fascination with nubile young boys through the ages, with no or little explanation/context, mixing queerness and pedophilia/pederasty seems more than a little problematic with today's political landscape. It's the author's responsibility to at least set the stage and explain facts in their context. I'm not asking them to express their opinion at every corner - but at least demonstrate some critical thinking and weave in (together with the facts) some modicum of intelligent commentary. I needed more to understand this fascinating (and little talked about) history.

A giddy romp through rape and abuse

This isn't a history of gay relationships as much as it is a catalog of disturbing abuses of power read as if it were harmless titillation. I was putting up with the disgustingly happy recounting of child abuse until I started looking into the underlying scholarship and found it lacking. The author doesn't bother tracing his sources or judging their reliability. It's all written on the level of a buzzfeed article. Decent enough if you know absolutely nothing I suppose, but because the author is dodgy at exactly where he is getting his information, it's hard to even use this as a springboard for further research.