Queer Georgians

SHORTLISTED FOR THE HWA NON-FICTION CROWN AWARD 2026

Dr Anthony Delaney, presenter of History Hit's After Dark podcast, reveals the lives of queer people written out of the nation's story, now lovingly restored.

'Immensely readable' Lucy Worsley, author, presenter and former Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces

'In this moving and revelatory book, Anthony Delaney gives a voice to women and men whose lives have been written out of history' Hallie Rubenhold, author of The Five and Story of a Murder

Mother Clap's Holborn coffee house is open to all comers, a place of companionship and community, until a tip-off leads to a midnight raid.

Two women, exiled from their families, set up a utopian homestead in a remote Welsh cottage, inspiring a generation of Romantic poets.

The celebrated Chevalier d'Éon, soldier, diplomat and spy, challenges a rival to a fencing match. The sweepstake is not over who will win, but whether the Chevalier is a man or a woman.

In this dazzling work of restorative history, Dr Anthony Delaney has traced the stories of people daring to challenge society's expectations, unearthing archives and court records to reveal the tragedies and the joys of queer life three centuries ago. Breathing new life into the forgotten and offering radical new interpretations of celebrated figures such as Anne Lister, Queer Georgians is an invitation to view our shared history in a whole new light.

'If you’ve been intrigued by the gay romances that featured in Bridgerton, or the inspiration behind Gentleman Jack, Queer Georgians brings both – and more – vividly to life' i paper

'Reading this hitherto hidden history was a revelation. I was utterly enthralled from the first page to the last.' Tracy Borman, Chief Historian, Historic Royal Palaces and author of The Private Lives of the Tudors

'Anthony Delaney has opened the closet door of Jane Austen’s England and found people of every style - criminalised in their own time, ignored by ours, heroically finding their own ways.' Philippa Gregory, author of Normal Women