by Barney Frank
First published 1999
Barney Frank chronicles three hundred years of LGBTQ existence in Boston, America's city with the most extensive documented gay and lesbian heritage. The book opens in the early 1600s with a Harvard student cast out for cross-dressing, then moves through centuries of hidden and visible queer lives. Frank presents 17th-century residents penalized for same-sex living arrangements, 19th-century touring performers who challenged gender norms on stage, and early 20th-century women who adopted male identities to marry their female partners. Through meticulous research, Frank reveals how Boston's gay and lesbian community survived, adapted, and thrived across dramatically different eras. The narrative spans from Puritan persecution to modern acceptance, showing how each generation found ways to build connections despite legal and social barriers. Frank combines historical documentation with rich illustrations to create the most thorough examination of gay city life ever assembled. This comprehensive account reveals not just survival but resilience, creativity, and the persistent human need for authentic community.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, non-fiction, biography-memoir, 21st-century, gay, american-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, resilience
Setting: Boston
Period: 1600s, 17th-century, 19th-century, 20th-century
212 pages · Paperback · Beacon Press
Content warnings: homophobia