Effeminate England

Homoerotic Writing After 1885

Author: Joseph Bristow
ISBN: 0231103492

In Effeminate England, Joseph Bristow explores the legacy of effeminacy in homoerotic literature that began more than a century ago with the 1885 Labouchere Amendment criminalizing male homosexual contact and Oscar Wilde's subsequent incarceration. This broad overview looks into the century that followed these defining moments in the history of gay literature, demonstrating how the effeminate behavior that came to be connected so solidly with male homosexual identity has manifested itself in the literature of gay male writers in England. Effeminate England focuses closely on the works and lives of several prominent British literary figures of the past century, including E. M. Forster, John Addington Symonds, and Quentin Crisp. In a concluding section, Bristow evaluates the impact of the AIDS epidemic on gay men's writing and offers a thoughtful, original reading of Alan Hollinghurst's highly regarded recent novel, The Swimming Pool Library.

Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publish Date: 1995

Subjects: Literary Criticism / General

This book is available in the following Community Centers: Cross-Cultural Center (Location: LGBT+/Queer (LGBT))