Edwin and John: A Personal History of the American South

by James T. Sears

In Edwin and John, award-winning author James T. Sears interweaves diaries, letters and poems to craft an innovative first-person narrative history that details the hard realities of growing up gay in the South during the early decades of the 20th century.Set against the backdrop of World War II and the post-war South, Edwin and John, provides a unique and intimate approach to queer history by following the 50 year relationship between John Zeigler and Edwin Peacocke that carried them both from their roots in the conservative South, through service in World War II, and into a placid and loving literary life where they opened a bookshop in what was then the small town of Charleston, South Carolina. Edwin and John is a revealing look at queer history, detailing how these two men and their remarkable circle of close friends--which included some of the greatest writers and artists of their era including Prentiss Taylor, Carson McCullers, and John Bennett--endured war, intolerance, and jealousies, while living proud and public lives in far more conservative times.

142 pages, Hardcover

First published March 13, 2009

Reviews

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this short book, written by James T Sears but presented as the autobiography of John Ziegler. John and his partner Edwin were together for most of their adult lives, their relationship beginning before World War 2, and only ending with Edwin's death in 1989. Wartime experiences take up a large part of the book, but aside from these they had literary connections through Edwin's friendship with Carson McCullers, and also ran a bookshop in John's hometown of Charleston. Their story is one that began long before Stonewall, and all that has changed since then, and is a fascinating look at gay men's lives in America over much of the 20th Century.