Masculinity, Class and Same-Sex Desire in Industrial England 1895-1957

Masculinity, Class and Same-Sex Desire in Industrial England, 1895-1957 is the first book to explore the experiences of men who desired other men outside of the capital. In doing so, it offers a unique intervention into the history of sexuality but it also offers new ways to understand masculinity, working-class culture, regionality and work in the period. The experiences of these men show that same-sex desire could be a part of everyday life and this in itself challenges the way in which sexuality as a concept has been understood. This study draws on a wide range of sources that allow the reader privileged access to the lives of men that have been forgotten.

Helen Smith is Lecturer in Twentieth Century British History at the University of Lincoln, UK, and has shared her research with the public through appearing on TV and Radio, writing for the press and working with a theatre company. She has also published the chapter 'Love, Sex, Work and Friendship: Northern Working-Class Men and Sexuality in the First Half of the Twentieth Century' in Love and Romance in Britain, 1918-1970, published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2014.