What do you think?
Rate this book
The Sins of Jack Saul (Second Edition): The True Story of Dublin Jack and The Cleveland Street Scandal
THE SINS OF JACK SAUL The true story of Dublin Jack and the Cleveland Street scandal. The Cleveland Street scandal, involving a homosexual brothel reputedly visited by the Queen's grandson, shocked Victorian Britain in 1889. This is the first full-length account of one of its key players, Jack Saul, a working class Irish Catholic rent boy who worked his way into the upper echelons of the aristocracy, and wrote the notorious pornographic memoir The Sins of the Cities of the Plain. Glenn Chandler, creator of Taggart, explores his colourful but tragic life and reveals for the first time the true story about what really went on behind the velvet curtains of Number 19 Cleveland Street.
1 pages, Audio CD
Published March 9, 2021
129 people are currently reading
318 people want to read
About the author
Glenn Chandler
20 books6 followersGlenn Chandler is a Scottish playwright and novelist. He has written plays for theatre and radio, original screenplays for television and films, television series, non-fiction and novels. His best known work is the Scottish television detective series Taggart, which is broadcast around the world.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
February 19, 2017
Unless one is being paid to ghost-write a celebrity autobiography, it's surely a truism that biographers are a little in love with their subjects. Glenn Chandler is evidently quite besotted with Jack Saul, and I can't fault him on that account.
The spectre of Jack Saul looms large: handsome and quick, upfront about his homosexual preferences at a time when Victorian society was gripped by moral panic, star witness in an infamous libel trial, and alleged author of a notorious work work of bisexual pornography. Jack Saul - the "patron saint of rentboys". Who could not be intrigued?
The problem is that Chandler (writer of TV series Taggart) is as much in love with the notion of Jack Saul the character as he is with the historical person. What he has produced reads like research notes for a character study, not a biography at all. Indeed, as I read I found myself thinking that "The Sins of Jack Saul: An Exercise in Supposition" might have been a more appropriate title.
The mystery of Jack Saul is alluring. On the one hand, we have very concrete detail, much of which is fascinating. Jack was born to poverty in Dublin, fell into sex work by means of his pretty face, and quickly showed skill at social climbing. He swapped Dublin for London, allegedly wrote an infamous work of pornography, and then ended up taking part in one of the most well-known scandals and trials of the Victorian period. Real, concrete, salacious specifics. You can see why one would want to begin research for a biography. However, the major problem becomes evident just one step further along: after these salacious details, there just isn't much else.
The author is clearly aware of the limitations of his data. Where Chandler does have concrete information we are generally overloaded with it. If an inconsequential actor arrives for a page or two, we are invariably told his parents' names, the name of his wife, their home, their profession and and any other information that Chandler seems to have to hand. Random tedious detail, which testifies to scrupulous research on the author's part, but also demonstrates that most of the sources that the author is working from amount to little more than census data.
These data-driven passages contrast rather starkly with Chandler's more vivid prose. He is evocative when describing the slums of Dublin and the bustle of central London - he has done his research and paints an immediate picture. However, whilst I will happily accept an author vividly describing a street that he has never seen, working from contemporary descriptions and period maps, I rather draw that line at him pretending to see into the mind of people who are a hundred and fifty years dead. Which he does quite a lot.
To take one example: during what became known as the "Dublin Felonies" Jack Saul was summoned back to Ireland to testify against one of his erstwhile sexual partners. We know that he was present and that police possessed his written testimony (now lost). In the event, Jack was never called upon to testify.
"Jack was angry, but relieved," writes Chandler. "He had indeed been dragged back to Dublin for no reason. He had waited around for a week to give the evidence that was in his statement, every moment of each day dreading the time when he would have to stand up and face his old friend and describe their relationship, to tell the court of indecent acts that might have sent [him] to prison."
To which I say: Bollocks.
Jack probably was "angry, but relieved". I can imagine that. Ninety-nine percent of people probably would be in that situation. So it is not an unreasonable guess - but it is a guess. Maybe Jack was resigned to not being called? Maybe he was overjoyed? Mr Chandler simply cannot know, and he has allowed his enthusiasm for Jack the imaginary character to overwhelm any decent attempt at biography. Did Jack spend every day of that week dreading the thought of sending an old friend to prison? Possibly. But maybe the two had quarrelled some years before and Jack quite liked the thought of seeing his former friend behind bars. Perhaps Jack, hardened by life as a prostitute on the streets of London, had moved on and no longer cared one way or the other. I do not know, and Mr Chandler certainly doesn't either.
The absence of sources for the life of Jack Saul are thus a general issue, but even where we have concrete information to work from I am lead to be dubious. Chandler doesn't really cite his sources, except for the occasional endnote; a fact that, given his evident tendency to embellish, does bother me rather. More troubling though is that on the one occasion that he has used a source with which I am personally familiar (The Sins of the Cities of the Plain Unabridged 1881 text with a new introduction ), Chandler seems to be staggeringly credulous.
The Sins of the Cities of the Plain is a work of Victorian pornography attributed to Jack Saul. In its foreword a narrator describes meeting Saul in the street, taking him home (having sex with him) and then asking him to write an account of his life. The book that follows is this account, supposedly written by Jack himself.
(I will pass over the fact that, at this point, no wild change in style occurs, we do not move suddenly from the prose of a Victorian gentleman to the prose of a teenage prostitute who grew up in abject poverty. But, for the sake of argument I will accept, as Chandler does, that Jack Saul wrote the substance of the novel.)
In Sins, Jack Saul meets people that he cannot possibly have met, at events that occurred when he was too young to have possibly attended them, and he describes a childhood in England that we know with utter certainty did not happen to him. Personally, I would have imagined that "this is a true story" was the oldest lie in erotica, but, rather than assuming as much, Mr Chandler explains away all of the demonstrable lies as understandable inventions, only to assume that everything else is probably reliable.
I'll repeat that: in a biography, where he is using a work of pornography as a primary source - a work that he knows to contain enormous fabrications - the author assumes that where the content is not demonstrably false, it is probably true.
Here, Mr Chandler and I at last needed to part company.
One must respect the enormous amount of work that the author has clearly put into this book, and the evident passion that has driven him to invest so much time an effort in the project. He has uncovered impressive amounts of hitherto undiscovered detail about Jack Saul (particularly his early and later life), by trawling through old records. It is very creditable. But he allows his desire to tell the best possible story from the available "facts" to overwhelm any effort at decent biography, and obscures any notion of objective truth. The resultant book is vivid, and at times fascinating, but I don't really trust a word of it. And for a biography that is something of an indictment.
The spectre of Jack Saul looms large: handsome and quick, upfront about his homosexual preferences at a time when Victorian society was gripped by moral panic, star witness in an infamous libel trial, and alleged author of a notorious work work of bisexual pornography. Jack Saul - the "patron saint of rentboys". Who could not be intrigued?
The problem is that Chandler (writer of TV series Taggart) is as much in love with the notion of Jack Saul the character as he is with the historical person. What he has produced reads like research notes for a character study, not a biography at all. Indeed, as I read I found myself thinking that "The Sins of Jack Saul: An Exercise in Supposition" might have been a more appropriate title.
The mystery of Jack Saul is alluring. On the one hand, we have very concrete detail, much of which is fascinating. Jack was born to poverty in Dublin, fell into sex work by means of his pretty face, and quickly showed skill at social climbing. He swapped Dublin for London, allegedly wrote an infamous work of pornography, and then ended up taking part in one of the most well-known scandals and trials of the Victorian period. Real, concrete, salacious specifics. You can see why one would want to begin research for a biography. However, the major problem becomes evident just one step further along: after these salacious details, there just isn't much else.
The author is clearly aware of the limitations of his data. Where Chandler does have concrete information we are generally overloaded with it. If an inconsequential actor arrives for a page or two, we are invariably told his parents' names, the name of his wife, their home, their profession and and any other information that Chandler seems to have to hand. Random tedious detail, which testifies to scrupulous research on the author's part, but also demonstrates that most of the sources that the author is working from amount to little more than census data.
These data-driven passages contrast rather starkly with Chandler's more vivid prose. He is evocative when describing the slums of Dublin and the bustle of central London - he has done his research and paints an immediate picture. However, whilst I will happily accept an author vividly describing a street that he has never seen, working from contemporary descriptions and period maps, I rather draw that line at him pretending to see into the mind of people who are a hundred and fifty years dead. Which he does quite a lot.
To take one example: during what became known as the "Dublin Felonies" Jack Saul was summoned back to Ireland to testify against one of his erstwhile sexual partners. We know that he was present and that police possessed his written testimony (now lost). In the event, Jack was never called upon to testify.
"Jack was angry, but relieved," writes Chandler. "He had indeed been dragged back to Dublin for no reason. He had waited around for a week to give the evidence that was in his statement, every moment of each day dreading the time when he would have to stand up and face his old friend and describe their relationship, to tell the court of indecent acts that might have sent [him] to prison."
To which I say: Bollocks.
Jack probably was "angry, but relieved". I can imagine that. Ninety-nine percent of people probably would be in that situation. So it is not an unreasonable guess - but it is a guess. Maybe Jack was resigned to not being called? Maybe he was overjoyed? Mr Chandler simply cannot know, and he has allowed his enthusiasm for Jack the imaginary character to overwhelm any decent attempt at biography. Did Jack spend every day of that week dreading the thought of sending an old friend to prison? Possibly. But maybe the two had quarrelled some years before and Jack quite liked the thought of seeing his former friend behind bars. Perhaps Jack, hardened by life as a prostitute on the streets of London, had moved on and no longer cared one way or the other. I do not know, and Mr Chandler certainly doesn't either.
The absence of sources for the life of Jack Saul are thus a general issue, but even where we have concrete information to work from I am lead to be dubious. Chandler doesn't really cite his sources, except for the occasional endnote; a fact that, given his evident tendency to embellish, does bother me rather. More troubling though is that on the one occasion that he has used a source with which I am personally familiar (The Sins of the Cities of the Plain Unabridged 1881 text with a new introduction ), Chandler seems to be staggeringly credulous.
The Sins of the Cities of the Plain is a work of Victorian pornography attributed to Jack Saul. In its foreword a narrator describes meeting Saul in the street, taking him home (having sex with him) and then asking him to write an account of his life. The book that follows is this account, supposedly written by Jack himself.
(I will pass over the fact that, at this point, no wild change in style occurs, we do not move suddenly from the prose of a Victorian gentleman to the prose of a teenage prostitute who grew up in abject poverty. But, for the sake of argument I will accept, as Chandler does, that Jack Saul wrote the substance of the novel.)
In Sins, Jack Saul meets people that he cannot possibly have met, at events that occurred when he was too young to have possibly attended them, and he describes a childhood in England that we know with utter certainty did not happen to him. Personally, I would have imagined that "this is a true story" was the oldest lie in erotica, but, rather than assuming as much, Mr Chandler explains away all of the demonstrable lies as understandable inventions, only to assume that everything else is probably reliable.
I'll repeat that: in a biography, where he is using a work of pornography as a primary source - a work that he knows to contain enormous fabrications - the author assumes that where the content is not demonstrably false, it is probably true.
Here, Mr Chandler and I at last needed to part company.
One must respect the enormous amount of work that the author has clearly put into this book, and the evident passion that has driven him to invest so much time an effort in the project. He has uncovered impressive amounts of hitherto undiscovered detail about Jack Saul (particularly his early and later life), by trawling through old records. It is very creditable. But he allows his desire to tell the best possible story from the available "facts" to overwhelm any effort at decent biography, and obscures any notion of objective truth. The resultant book is vivid, and at times fascinating, but I don't really trust a word of it. And for a biography that is something of an indictment.
December 23, 2022
irish legend, someone fund a statue
July 31, 2016
Getting a hickey in print: There's a problem when an author falls in love with his principal character. Objectivity goes out the window and what we get instead is a love letter, wish fulfilment and a happy finish for the writer that may or may not leave the reader with a nasty taste in his mouth. Glenn Chandler is the creator and former head writer for Taggart, the Scottish police procedural that ran for many years longer than its lead character. This volume reads like an extended treatment for a timetravelling episode, perhaps in the vein of Ripper Street. It's a gripping story which Chandler brings to life with gusto, imagining conversations, settings and feelings for which there is scant documented evidence. It all gets a bit carried away with itself and rather like the recent play-with-songs on Jack's life that he also masterminded in the sweaty environs of Above The Stag, a fringe venue in Vauxhall, the ragged edges are in evidence. For the most, the style mixes matey with potboiler and there are some poor editing choices (please, send that man on a course to learn about greengrocers' apostrophies) making even the plebs who program the autocorrect dictionaries for Apple and Google look like classically trained scholars. It's way too long and this reader's interest had flagged long before the Cleveland Street scandal (the real heart of Jack Saul's biography) gets into its stride. For all that, though, it has enjoyable moments and it's high time the mollies, maryanns and sovereign boys got a sympathetic hearing given the repugnant homophobia and classism they endured in their day. Queen Anne sounds an interesting fellow and I wonder if Chandler could work something up on him....
October 10, 2016
Interesting biography of one of the young men at the heart of the Cleveland Street Scandal in London in 1889.
For those who don't know, 19 Cleveland Street was the site of a male brothel at a time when even placing your hand on another man's knee could be construed as an "unnatural act" and see the knee patter in prison for several years doing hard labour!
Jack Saul was in his late 20s/early 30s at the time of the scandal, and a well known figure in the gay subculture of Victorian London.
Glenn Chandler has reconstructed this young man's life, as much as we can know it, and told the story of what was, at base, persecution of gay men in Dublin and in London.
Interesting and fascinating on a lot of levels. Highly recommended to anyone who is interested in Victorian London, and gay Victorian London in particular.
For those who don't know, 19 Cleveland Street was the site of a male brothel at a time when even placing your hand on another man's knee could be construed as an "unnatural act" and see the knee patter in prison for several years doing hard labour!
Jack Saul was in his late 20s/early 30s at the time of the scandal, and a well known figure in the gay subculture of Victorian London.
Glenn Chandler has reconstructed this young man's life, as much as we can know it, and told the story of what was, at base, persecution of gay men in Dublin and in London.
Interesting and fascinating on a lot of levels. Highly recommended to anyone who is interested in Victorian London, and gay Victorian London in particular.
staying-away
May 14, 2023Not for me. The audiobook was more of a long, off-topic essay than a story.
September 27, 2025
I loved this well researched but deeply flawed book (I could go into the problems but Goodreads author C.L. McCartney in his review of February 19, 2017 does it so well, and comprehensively, that I am not going to replicate it) or, more fairly, a book that is closer to a 'fiction' but is mispresented as biography.
Glen Chandler has done an incredible job in rescuing the Jack Saul of the 'Sins of the Cities of the Plain' fame from 'fiction' and establishing him as a real person. He also provides new insights onto some of the Victorian homosexual sex scandals (I can't call them gay, even homosexual is anachronistic, sodomy scandals would be truer) but he hasn't discovered any new truths about the Cleveland Street scandal (I doubt if there ever were any great secrets to discover. The chances of Prince Albert Edward being involved is about as likely as his being Jack the Ripper). There isn't enough information to write a biography but that doesn't mean that, working from scant facts, it is not possible to rescue an overlooked or forgotten personage from the shadows and use them to provide both insight on more famous characters but also provide them with a dignity and reality that is completely believable because it is acknowledged to be fiction. Such a book is 'The Ballad of Lord Edward and Citizen Small' by Neil Jordan (I refer you to the review from The Guardian at: https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...).
With all respect to Glenn Chandler he is not a writer of Neil Jordan's capabilities. The Sins of Jack Saul is compulsively readable and fascinating but marred by the insertion of second rate historical fiction tropes into a 'biography'. But I am Irish and queer and Jack Saul, even through the obscurities of what can't be known is someone well worth resurrecting and celebrating.
This is a novel, disguised as a biography, would have made better fiction and probably, in that form, would have shone a brighter light on what facts are known. I am giving my four stars to Jack Saul one of history's many little heroes who I wish we could know better.
Glen Chandler has done an incredible job in rescuing the Jack Saul of the 'Sins of the Cities of the Plain' fame from 'fiction' and establishing him as a real person. He also provides new insights onto some of the Victorian homosexual sex scandals (I can't call them gay, even homosexual is anachronistic, sodomy scandals would be truer) but he hasn't discovered any new truths about the Cleveland Street scandal (I doubt if there ever were any great secrets to discover. The chances of Prince Albert Edward being involved is about as likely as his being Jack the Ripper). There isn't enough information to write a biography but that doesn't mean that, working from scant facts, it is not possible to rescue an overlooked or forgotten personage from the shadows and use them to provide both insight on more famous characters but also provide them with a dignity and reality that is completely believable because it is acknowledged to be fiction. Such a book is 'The Ballad of Lord Edward and Citizen Small' by Neil Jordan (I refer you to the review from The Guardian at: https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...).
With all respect to Glenn Chandler he is not a writer of Neil Jordan's capabilities. The Sins of Jack Saul is compulsively readable and fascinating but marred by the insertion of second rate historical fiction tropes into a 'biography'. But I am Irish and queer and Jack Saul, even through the obscurities of what can't be known is someone well worth resurrecting and celebrating.
This is a novel, disguised as a biography, would have made better fiction and probably, in that form, would have shone a brighter light on what facts are known. I am giving my four stars to Jack Saul one of history's many little heroes who I wish we could know better.
March 21, 2021
YOU'LL NEED TO TAKE SOME NOTES...
Don’t know why I was expecting a story, but got a report. This narrative validates that human sexuality changes little throughout time, certainly western culture and the bourgeois values that were passed down from the Victorian era. While this story is interesting on its face, the “nuts and bolts” of the telling quickly divulges into names, titles, and more names with details about their lives you care little about knowing. Clearly Chandler has invested a lot of time researching this topic and wants to share everything he knows. These people are long dead and with just a few exceptions, we’ve never heard of any of them.
You’ll need a scorecard to keep track of who’s sodomizing who literally and figuratively and there's little in the way of titillating details to make it at all interesting. This makes the book generally a bit of a slog. Still my interest in history and justice for the victims of Judeo-Christian self-righteousness kept me reading. (Chandler credits Charles II for leading the Royalists in the English Civil War. It actually was his father, Charles I. Am I being petty?)
Don’t know why I was expecting a story, but got a report. This narrative validates that human sexuality changes little throughout time, certainly western culture and the bourgeois values that were passed down from the Victorian era. While this story is interesting on its face, the “nuts and bolts” of the telling quickly divulges into names, titles, and more names with details about their lives you care little about knowing. Clearly Chandler has invested a lot of time researching this topic and wants to share everything he knows. These people are long dead and with just a few exceptions, we’ve never heard of any of them.
You’ll need a scorecard to keep track of who’s sodomizing who literally and figuratively and there's little in the way of titillating details to make it at all interesting. This makes the book generally a bit of a slog. Still my interest in history and justice for the victims of Judeo-Christian self-righteousness kept me reading. (Chandler credits Charles II for leading the Royalists in the English Civil War. It actually was his father, Charles I. Am I being petty?)
December 23, 2021
The first half was 2 stars, and the second was 1 star. I'm rounding down because I never felt like I *knew* Jack Saul while reading or learned why he's an important queer figure, even after reading the entire book.
I just can't recommend this book. Even as history of male brothels and rentboys, it seems questionable since so much about Jack is speculation. Did he really write that book or was it ghostwritten? Is there really no picture of him at all? I also had big questions/concerns about the author's objectivity.
Every time the author mentioned Oscar Wilde in passing, I felt a little irritated because THAT story is the one I wished I was reading instead.
I read this for my queer men's book club, and I hate going when I don't like the book. But here's hoping next month's pick is better.
I just can't recommend this book. Even as history of male brothels and rentboys, it seems questionable since so much about Jack is speculation. Did he really write that book or was it ghostwritten? Is there really no picture of him at all? I also had big questions/concerns about the author's objectivity.
Every time the author mentioned Oscar Wilde in passing, I felt a little irritated because THAT story is the one I wished I was reading instead.
I read this for my queer men's book club, and I hate going when I don't like the book. But here's hoping next month's pick is better.
April 23, 2020
Immensely enjoyed reading this. Would definitely recommend to anybody interested in the Victorian era namely the Cleveland Street scandal!
The concluding chapter really gives Jack the send off he deserves and never truly got for being such a survivor of quite a lot of things he endured through-out his 46 years of life; after all he was just trying to do what we are trying to do put bread on the table and provide for the ones we love- is what he did such an unforgivable thing?
Glenn’s epitaph of Jack is, in my opinion, quite emotional. You really feel like you knew Jack; I wish I did know him,as to me, he was a remarkable person!
The concluding chapter really gives Jack the send off he deserves and never truly got for being such a survivor of quite a lot of things he endured through-out his 46 years of life; after all he was just trying to do what we are trying to do put bread on the table and provide for the ones we love- is what he did such an unforgivable thing?
Glenn’s epitaph of Jack is, in my opinion, quite emotional. You really feel like you knew Jack; I wish I did know him,as to me, he was a remarkable person!
July 27, 2020
Not a book I could recommend. The author seems to go into screeds of detail about characters' backgrounds without giving us anything that helps us know them. Even as a work of non-fiction that makes it dry, with little to "hook" the reader. I found myself skim-reading much more than I usually do with biographies. Apparently there is no known photograph of Jack Saul but it still seems to me quite a blunder to show him on the cover with dark hair when the text describes him as blonde.
October 28, 2018
Gave up on this. Started well but just didn't seem to get anywhere. Reads like an adapted PhD thesis.. really got too caught up in many names. Not enough story.
May 23, 2018
Incredibly well researched. It’s difficult to imagine the time and effort it took for Chandler to track down so many details of the myriad characters, major and minor, that bring the seamy world of Victorian homosexual prostitution to life. The author’s decision not to dramatize characters and events with imagined dialogue was correct — newspaper accounts and court documents covering the remarkable facts paint a vivid enough picture. Not only of personalities, but of the pervading paranoia of the period, when ‘sodomy’ was a major offence in Britain, punishable by lengthy prison sentences. Chandler’s empathetic treatment of his major focus, Jack Saul, is always fascinating and at times heart wrenching. Starting with Jack’s birth in an Irish tenement, through his days as a renowned London prostitute, to his early death in a Dublin hospice, one can’t help but be sympathetic — occasionally feel anguish — about his dubious life choices. The book is a brilliant depiction of a life led in the shadows, barely imaginable since the decriminalization of homosexuality.
March 26, 2018
A very thoroughly researched and well-written narrative of the life of Jack Saul, an Irish rentboy who worked first in Dublin but then most significantly in London. He got caught up in the Cleveland Street scandal in 1884. If you like reading about gay history that is well done, this is a book for you.
August 8, 2018
Scintillatingly scrumptious read !!! Loved it for ALL reasons .❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
July 4, 2023
This book was an absolutely wild ride! The courtroom transcripts were crazy. I love how Glenn was able to outline so much of Jack's life.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking to learn more about queen history and to see how far queen rights have come along in the past century or so.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking to learn more about queen history and to see how far queen rights have come along in the past century or so.
September 7, 2024
A very sad tale of a bygone era.
June 22, 2020
This didn't live up to my expectations raised in the introductory pages where I was expecting a rollicking account of a defiant, working class Irish youth, taking on the double standards and injustices of class, prejudice and law. What you get is really the imaginings of the author, that leave you a bit doubtful, from pieced-together police records and Victorian pornography. (It is depressing that lives of homosexuals are largely mined from police and court records.)
It's important to remember that the injustices of the law based on class and the machinations of the ruling classes to protect their own, and distaste for "abominable acts" have continued until recently. (I am thinking of Jeremy Thorpe being found not guilty of conspiracy to murder his young lover and the death of Alan Turing.) On guard!
There are lots of good things in the book - just the fact that we have an account of such a figure as Jack Saul and smaller things like descriptions of the uniforms of workers in the Victorian era - not only those of the telegraph boys, but the Thames watermen in their "blue serge suits, stiff white collars and bowler hats". I'd wear a uniform like that. There is also some nice treatment of the contrasting stories of the real-life Jack and his fantastical depiction of himself in his co-authored pornographic work.
Yeah - interesting, and good on Glenn Chandler.
It's important to remember that the injustices of the law based on class and the machinations of the ruling classes to protect their own, and distaste for "abominable acts" have continued until recently. (I am thinking of Jeremy Thorpe being found not guilty of conspiracy to murder his young lover and the death of Alan Turing.) On guard!
There are lots of good things in the book - just the fact that we have an account of such a figure as Jack Saul and smaller things like descriptions of the uniforms of workers in the Victorian era - not only those of the telegraph boys, but the Thames watermen in their "blue serge suits, stiff white collars and bowler hats". I'd wear a uniform like that. There is also some nice treatment of the contrasting stories of the real-life Jack and his fantastical depiction of himself in his co-authored pornographic work.
Yeah - interesting, and good on Glenn Chandler.
August 4, 2017
Fascinating, well researched story of Jack Saul. This week we celebrated 50 years since the partial de-criminalisation of homosexuality, and Jack Saul lived (and worked as a rent boy) when the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885 was introduced. This, among other things, extended the laws so that any kind of sexual activity whatsoever between males was criminalised (it came to be known as the Blackmailer's Charter). A well written book telling the life of a young man who used prostitution as a way to try to escape from poverty and became involved in two of the most infamous scandals of the time. Very clear to see that then, as now, the ruling classes were protected from any scandal, and the idea of them being involved with the lower classes was worse than the act itself.
May 20, 2023
A reread when this is more relevant to my interest/research. Enjoyed it a lot more. Though much of the book is just like an extended Essay where I'm meant to remember who is who when everyone is bloody called Charles, Henry or Alfred. Towards the end really brought Jack to life and its horrible to think how much his Catholic guilt pervaded him regarding his entirely natural sexual preference and the need to make money (a lot of which he sent home to his impoverished family in Dublin). The judge and press at the time calling him a 'revolting creature' was horrible expecially you know full well that word wouldn't be far from many people's lips even now in 2023.
June 17, 2022
It is very clear that the facts presented in this book were all thoroughly researched, which is nice. I never felt misled or unsure about the information Chandler presented about people, places, events etc. There are, however, multiple parts in the book where Chandler describes the private thoughts and feelings of Jack and other people, which he could not possibly have any knowledge of but still presents as fact. This bothered me a bit as I was reading, even though I very much enjoyed the book.
September 23, 2018
Brilliant book could not put down
This book is brilliant. It go's into detail into jacks like from his early childhood to his middle age my goodness this boy lived and burned those candle both ends. Also go's into details about Cleveland street I have not read else were. A riveting read on sexual escapades from the aristocracy to the poor many locations streets exist today
This book is brilliant. It go's into detail into jacks like from his early childhood to his middle age my goodness this boy lived and burned those candle both ends. Also go's into details about Cleveland street I have not read else were. A riveting read on sexual escapades from the aristocracy to the poor many locations streets exist today
May 3, 2020
The absolutely fascinating story of the UKs first (unwitting?) LGB activist
A true and compelling story of courage and intrigue, showing how the Establishment works to protect itself at all costs.
A true and compelling story of courage and intrigue, showing how the Establishment works to protect itself at all costs.
August 23, 2023
Interesting account (non-fiction) of Jack Saul, an Irish male prostitute working in Dublin and then London in the 1880s. He was at the center of the Cleveland Street brothel scandal that ensnared many an English lord (almost all of whom got off while the poor working men went to prison).
August 24, 2018
A fascinating look at the life of John Saul and his entanglement in an infamous sex scandal of the late Victorian Age. Well researched and written.
July 22, 2022
Interesting glimpse into queer life during this Victorian era. Crisp prose.
June 30, 2023
The Sins of Jack Saul: The True Story of Dublin Jack and The Cleveland Street Scandal by Glenn Chandler is a captivating historical account that delves into the scandalous events of the late 19th century, shedding light on a dark underbelly of Victorian society. With meticulous research and a compelling narrative style, Chandler weaves together the threads of a forgotten tale, bringing to life a cast of intriguing characters and exploring the complexities of morality, power, and desire.
The book revolves around the infamous Cleveland Street Scandal, a real-life scandal that rocked London in 1889. At the heart of the narrative is Jack Saul, a captivating and elusive character whose life as a male prostitute offers an unusual perspective on the times. The author manages to humanize Jack Saul, presenting him not merely as a sordid figure but as a man shaped by the circumstances of his era, driven to survive and make a living in an unforgiving world. The complexities of Jack's identity and experiences are sensitively portrayed, allowing the reader to empathize with him despite the controversial nature of his profession.
The Cleveland Street Scandal itself was a revelation that rocked the upper echelons of British society, involving allegations of male prostitution, homosexuality, and connections to prominent figures. Chandler skillfully navigates through the intricate web of lies, cover-ups, and conspiracies surrounding the scandal, creating an enthralling narrative that keeps the reader guessing until the very end.
On the whole, The Sins of Jack Saul is a fascinating and immersive read that brings a forgotten chapter of history back to life. Glenn Chandler's impeccable research and storytelling skills make this book a valuable resource for anyone interested in Victorian history, LGBTQ+ history, or the social dynamics of the time.
The book revolves around the infamous Cleveland Street Scandal, a real-life scandal that rocked London in 1889. At the heart of the narrative is Jack Saul, a captivating and elusive character whose life as a male prostitute offers an unusual perspective on the times. The author manages to humanize Jack Saul, presenting him not merely as a sordid figure but as a man shaped by the circumstances of his era, driven to survive and make a living in an unforgiving world. The complexities of Jack's identity and experiences are sensitively portrayed, allowing the reader to empathize with him despite the controversial nature of his profession.
The Cleveland Street Scandal itself was a revelation that rocked the upper echelons of British society, involving allegations of male prostitution, homosexuality, and connections to prominent figures. Chandler skillfully navigates through the intricate web of lies, cover-ups, and conspiracies surrounding the scandal, creating an enthralling narrative that keeps the reader guessing until the very end.
On the whole, The Sins of Jack Saul is a fascinating and immersive read that brings a forgotten chapter of history back to life. Glenn Chandler's impeccable research and storytelling skills make this book a valuable resource for anyone interested in Victorian history, LGBTQ+ history, or the social dynamics of the time.
September 11, 2022
Also a good essay on a particular period in our social history.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. If you're hoping for some dirt on the Victorian royal family via Prince Albert Victor, then heir to the throne but sadly died, move on. He is hardly mentioned as there is really nothing to connect him to Cleveland St other than one mention by someone who was trying to sew scandal.
However, we get an excellent insight into life in 19th century Dublin and London with its appalling class divide which affected not only ordinary life but the legal system. The number of aristocracy and 'upper classes' who were frequent clients of these young men is amazing. Any modern scandals today are truly insignificant. And that one man with basically a stroke of the pen in 1885 can make the lives of so many men so miserable for so long is really shocking.
I liked Jack. He harmed no-one. He was earning a living in a time when there was no welfare state. You worked or died. He provided a service which obviously so many men wanted but at great cost to both client and worker. Thankfully workers in the sex industry today are better protected but perhaps not entirely.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. If you're hoping for some dirt on the Victorian royal family via Prince Albert Victor, then heir to the throne but sadly died, move on. He is hardly mentioned as there is really nothing to connect him to Cleveland St other than one mention by someone who was trying to sew scandal.
However, we get an excellent insight into life in 19th century Dublin and London with its appalling class divide which affected not only ordinary life but the legal system. The number of aristocracy and 'upper classes' who were frequent clients of these young men is amazing. Any modern scandals today are truly insignificant. And that one man with basically a stroke of the pen in 1885 can make the lives of so many men so miserable for so long is really shocking.
I liked Jack. He harmed no-one. He was earning a living in a time when there was no welfare state. You worked or died. He provided a service which obviously so many men wanted but at great cost to both client and worker. Thankfully workers in the sex industry today are better protected but perhaps not entirely.
November 26, 2020
I have a very keen interest in history and especially LGBTQ history. While this book was filled with lot of information it read in a manner that left me feeling like I was reading a thesis. Glenn Chandler's writing style failed to hold my attention for the duration of the book but there were certain tidbits that aroused my interest and gave me the impetus to read a little more until eventually I was near enough to the end and felt relief. Far too many titles of too many individuals and too many unecessary descriptions that took some of the magic. The best attribute about this book is that it piqued my interest in reading the original Jack Saul "Sins In The Cities of the Plain." I immediately started reading Jack Saul's original accounts and was highly enthralled with the titillating details of his young adventures as a "Mary-Ann" rentboy during the Victorian era in London.
March 11, 2023
"The Sins of Jack Saul" is an amazing work by Glenn Chandler.
It has obviously been well-researched but given the very few details we know for sure about Jack Saul, a lot has to be left to the imagination. However, unlike other reviewers, I find Chandler is always extremely clear when he makes an assumption and when he tells stone-cold facts. It's probably a style preference but I like the personal touch the author gives this piece of history.
It is true that a lot of people are mentioned. If they are even connected to someone who is connected to Saul their entire family history is laid out. Personally, I didn't mind as much because Chandler never took more than a page to get back to Saul's story
All in all a thrilling read. Especially the scenes that played out in the courtroom, where Chandler gets to use true quotes as reported at the time, are breathtaking.
It has obviously been well-researched but given the very few details we know for sure about Jack Saul, a lot has to be left to the imagination. However, unlike other reviewers, I find Chandler is always extremely clear when he makes an assumption and when he tells stone-cold facts. It's probably a style preference but I like the personal touch the author gives this piece of history.
It is true that a lot of people are mentioned. If they are even connected to someone who is connected to Saul their entire family history is laid out. Personally, I didn't mind as much because Chandler never took more than a page to get back to Saul's story
All in all a thrilling read. Especially the scenes that played out in the courtroom, where Chandler gets to use true quotes as reported at the time, are breathtaking.
May 4, 2025
I enjoyed the book from its historical perspective. I felt the author had done his due diligence in researching the story to provide a glimpse of what life was like for a certain segment of Victorian England and Ireland. However, none of the people mentioned had much in the way of redeeming or exemplary qualities. I am not sure why Jack chose the life he led other than it was an easy and lazy way to make a living despite the potential downsides. I find it interesting that he was a central figure in two high profile scandals in two different cities, Dublin and London. I gave the book 4 stars because of the historical snapshot that was well-written.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews