Author:Peter Ackroyd
‘Droll, provocative and crammed to busting with startling facts’ Simon Callow, Guardian
In this powerful Sunday Times bestseller Peter Ackroyd looks at London in a whole new way – through the history and experiences of its gay 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 nineteenth century. He journeys through the coffee bars of sixties Soho to Gay Liberation, disco music and the horror of AIDS.
Today, we live in an era of openness and tolerance and Queer London has become part of the new norm. Ackroyd tells us the hidden story of how it got there, celebrating its diversity, thrills and energy on the one hand; but reminding us of its very real terrors, dangers and risks on the other.
After his mammoth, shamanic aria London: the Biography, the remarkable writer Peter Ackroyd has produced a nimble, uproarious pocket history of sex in his beloved metropolis
—— Alasdair Lees , IndependentAckroyd has an encyclopaedic knowledge of London, and a poet's instinct for its strange, mesmerising drives and urges ... Queer City contains something to alarm or fascinate on every page
—— Craig Brown , The Mail on SundayDroll, provocative and crammed to busting with startling facts
—— Simon Callow , The GuardianIf there was a prize for the most evocative or salacious chapter headings, then Peter Ackroyd's new book, Queer City, would be the undisputed victor. They capture the rudery and naughtiness, although not the erudition of this entertaining history of the 'queer' experience in London
—— Robbie Millen , The TimesSuccinct, perceptive and robust
—— Rupert Christiansen , Daily TelegraphThe kind of screed a queer person would be remiss if they did not pick up. This is a call to arms... Throughout the book it is made clear that for every halcyon day, there was a dystopia that preceded and followed. The one great progress Ackroyd highlights is that we have one thing in the 21st century that the other eras did not: an attempt a 'gay community' ... London relies on queerness as much as queers have relied on the labyrinth and the bacchanal of the Big Smoke. Now, it seems, we have a chance to change it in the open
—— David Levesley , iAckroyd's brisk little history of what he calls queer London is itself a collation of sweetmeats
—— Dominic Sandbrook , The Sunday TimesAlways entertaining ... much to be recommended
—— Philip Hensher , The SpectatorThis gallop through the pink past [...] tells a torrid tale of persecution and pleasure, of blackmail and blue murder
—— Mark Sanderson , Evening StandardBy shining a light in dark places, Ackroyd has created a triumphantly queer picture of a city he loves – as city as queer as any other
—— Philip Hoare , New StatesmanA timely reminder that gay lives have always been tightly woven into London's rich social brocade
—— ProspectIf you've never read anything by Peter Ackroyd, imagine settling down in a pub… There you are, ensconced in that pub… and you're stuck by the realization that your companion is so knowledgeable, so erudite, so simply brilliant that you don't care you've not got a word in edgeways since the first few foamy quaffs a couple of hours back. That's what reading Peter Ackroyd is like… Ackroyd possesses a lightness of touch which means the reader never feels overwhelmed by the accumulation of facts, figures, and salacious anecdotes they're presented with… Endlessly fascinating... This book teaches us the importance that queer life in London has, and always will have, to all of us
—— Josh Baines , THUMP UKThis is a very worthy book that charts queer experience onto the map of London from which it has been omitted for so many centuries
—— Sam Ford , Totally DublinA rambunctious chronicle of “gay London from pre-Roman times to the present day”
—— GuardianAckroyd delivers an excellent queer read about London, this time ‘our’ London… Endless facts delight and amuse in this celebration and investigation of queer life from Celtic times to the present day… Validating, interesting and endlessly fascinating
—— GsceneTeeming with incredible stories, amazing characters and extraordinary detail, Queer City is the fascinating story of LGBT+ London from the Romans to the present day and reveals the incredibly rich history of London’s LGBT+ past
—— Pride LifeThe comedian and polymath retells age-old Greek myths in dramatic, modernised style
—— iOne of the nation's favourite intellectuals retells the epic myths of the Greek heroes in his own unique and very enjoyable way
—— Cambridge IndependentThis fascinating book prompts us to question how we think about the world, and challenges those in West and East who peddle the dangerous myth of civilisational conflict
—— Christopher Kissane , The Irish TimesThis is an interesting, well-written and thoughtful book… He deserves credit for engaging with a highly complex and equally pertinent subject at a time when Islam is always in the news especially in the Western world
—— Muhammad Khan , Muslim NewsHighly readable… The Islamic Enlightenment has a bone to pick with those who argue that Islam needs to become more civilised.
—— Nabeelah Jaffer , Daily TelegraphA refreshingly optimistic counterpoint to the idea that Muslim and Western world-views are doomed to clash.
—— The EconomistA tremendous combination of deep learning, forceful argument and arresting prose, The Islamic Enlightenment is bold, bracing and important
—— Jessie Childs, author of GOD'S TRAITORSThat there has been an Islamic Enlightenment at all will come as news to many. De Bellaigue’s account of the “very broad church” of Islam in the modern world is splendid and timely.
—— Anthony Gottlieb, author of THE DREAM OF ENLIGHTENMENTNuanced and rich in detail
—— Dmitri Levitin , London Review of BooksShe offers insights into everyone from Donald Trump to Simon Cowell, showing them not just as what they represent, but as individuals with flaws and charm
—— The Press and JournalOne of the best we've read this year . . . This insightful, hilarious and engrossing memoir from one of our most well-liked TV broadcasters takes you behind the scenes of the biggest news stories in recent years
—— SheerLuxe, 15 Best Beach Reads of 2019Recounts, one guest per chapter, a number of her interviews with the boldest of boldface figures . . . Entertaining
—— Strong WordsA quick, absorbing read . . . my overriding impression is of rather breathless thoughtfulness . . . her formidable intelligence and self-deprecating awareness shine brightly
—— Times Higher EducationWe love the Maitlis
—— StylistWe're obsessed with Emily Maitlis in this house
—— Nick GrimshawEmily Maitlis is a particular hero of mine . . . I know I'm in for a treat with Airhead
—— Gaby Huddart, Editor-in-chief, Good HousekeepingEmily Maitlis is one of my favourite interviewers and I want to read her tales of interviewing people such as Donald Trump, Theresa May and Simon Cowell
—— Catriona Shearer, Sunday MailA fascinating behind-the-scenes insight into modern television news
—— Time & Leisure MagazineIt's a brilliant, often funny, behind-the-scenes account of her working life, written by one of Britain's best television broadcasters. It proves she's far from an airhead!
—— John CravenShe gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at some of the most engaging interviews she's conducted in recent years - with all the wrangling, arguing, pleading and last-minute script writing they involved. Insightful, funny and engrossing, we love it.
—— SheerLuxe