In this episode of the Explaining History Podcast, we are joined by historian Peter Parker to discuss the remarkable rediscovery of James Courage's A Way of Love – widely regarded as the first gay novel by a New Zealander – and what it tells us about gay life in post-war Britain.
First published in 1959 and banned in New Zealand in 1961, A Way of Love has returned to print after nearly seven decades. Set in 1950s London, it follows two men attempting to build a life together at a time when sex between men remained a criminal offence. Its timing is significant: it appeared two years after the Wolfenden Report recommended that homosexual acts between consenting adults in private should no longer be criminalised, but eight years before the partial decriminalisation introduced by the Sexual Offences Act of 1967.
Peter Parker, author of Some Men in London volumes one and two – acclaimed anthologies of gay life in the capital – joins us to explore this fascinating transitional moment. Drawing on James Courage's extraordinary diary as well as the novel, we examine what it meant to be a gay man in a society where prosecution, censorship and social stigma were constant threats.
We discuss the geography of gay life – the private members' clubs and pubs where men could relax and be amongst their own people – and the language they used, including the secret argot of Polari. We also explore the long struggle for legal reform, the resistance of the Metropolitan Police, and the cultural shifts that helped change attitudes – from the pioneering work of the Homosexual Law Reform Society to the impact of films like Victim (1961) and John Osborne's A Patriot for Me.
Peter also reflects on the "happy ever after" problem in gay history: the assumption that rights appeared by magic overnight, rather than being won through decades of struggle, persecution and sacrifice.
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Peter Parker's Some Men in London volumes one and two are available from all good bookshops. James Courage's A Way of Love is republished by Lyric Editions. Please consider buying from an independent retailer or directly from the publisher.
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