Queer Enlightenments: A Hidden History of Lovers, Lawbreakers, and Homemakers

Queer people have always existed. In an era when this basic truth faces undue scrutiny, here is a dazzling work of restorative history that reveals the hard-won lives of those who dared to break the mold in the “long eighteenth-century.” At once an illuminating romp through the historical archive and an evocative new chapter in our shared history, Dr. Anthony Delaney’s Queer Enlightenments uncovers the remarkable queer people of that complex, sometimes paradoxical time.

Unfolding between 1726 and 1836, Queer Enlightenments is a lively journey through the taverns, prisons, and cruising grounds of a bygone era and into the lives of aristocrats, tradesmen, and sex workers who pursued self-expression and freedom no matter the risk. In London, Mother Clap’s famous Holborn coffee house is open to all comers, a place of companionship and community, until a tip-off leads to a midnight raid. At the court of King George, a silver-tongued noblewoman remarked of one of Queen Caroline’s confidants, “The world consists of men, women, and Herveys.” And in New York, a Black sex worker endures a degrading trial that labels her the “Man-Monster”—but between the lines of its transcripts can be found traces of her life, one of acceptance, defiance, and indomitable spirit. 

Peopled with female husbands, midnight elopements, and one unforgettable soldier/diplomat/spy of ambiguous gender, Queer Enlightenments delves into the archives and emerges with new discoveries and a fresh view of the people who challenged society’s expectations.