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A Queer Inheritance: Alternative Histories in the National Trust
Not yet published
Expected 28 Apr 26LGBTQ+ histories and identities come out of the National Trust's properties in these touching, poignant and revealing stories.
National Trust houses and landscapes might seem to embody conventional family values, but for generations some very different stories were hidden away. These belong to owners now considered queer for defying the norms of sexual orientation or gender identity – sometimes blatantly, occasionally as open secrets, but most often very discreetly.
Michael Hall explores not only the best-known examples of sexual difference, such as Lawrence of Arabia at Clouds Hill, Vita Sackville-West at Sissinghurst and the 'Dancing Marquess' at Plas Newydd; he also covers more recently unveiled stories, such as the lesbian community at Smallhythe and the homosexual scandals associated with Clumber. Then there were the quietly confirmed bachelors, keen to pass their properties and collections to the Trust for posterity...
These stories are set against the queer history of the National Trust itself, such as its foundation in 1895 against the backdrop of Oscar Wilde's trials; hidden queer influences within the Trust in its early days; and the role of homophobia in its reorganisation in the 1960s.
National Trust houses and landscapes might seem to embody conventional family values, but for generations some very different stories were hidden away. These belong to owners now considered queer for defying the norms of sexual orientation or gender identity – sometimes blatantly, occasionally as open secrets, but most often very discreetly.
Michael Hall explores not only the best-known examples of sexual difference, such as Lawrence of Arabia at Clouds Hill, Vita Sackville-West at Sissinghurst and the 'Dancing Marquess' at Plas Newydd; he also covers more recently unveiled stories, such as the lesbian community at Smallhythe and the homosexual scandals associated with Clumber. Then there were the quietly confirmed bachelors, keen to pass their properties and collections to the Trust for posterity...
These stories are set against the queer history of the National Trust itself, such as its foundation in 1895 against the backdrop of Oscar Wilde's trials; hidden queer influences within the Trust in its early days; and the role of homophobia in its reorganisation in the 1960s.
432 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication April 28, 2026
62 people want to read
About the author
Michael Hall
216 books12 followersThere is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
For the children's author, see Michael Hall. For the author of the Island Pamphlets (Northern Ireland), see Michael Hall.
For the children's author, see Michael Hall. For the author of the Island Pamphlets (Northern Ireland), see Michael Hall.
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