I mention in this post some potentially interesting websites and books for those readers of this blog who feel inspired to look into LGBTQ heritage and research themselves.
The Institute of Historical Research has a good reading list, on its History of Sexuality & LGBTQ Collections webpage. I particularly recommend the sections on LGBTQ General Works, Homosexuality and Same-Gender and relationships, Queer/Questioning, and LGBTQ+ Biographies. English Heritage, some of whose properties have LGBTQ connections, has an excellent LGBTQ History webpage, with links to articles to follow up. For example, Alison Oram has written a great, thought-provoking article on Experiments in Gender. Katie Burke has written an insightful article on Researching LGBTQ History, discussing terms and concepts. The English Heritage webpages are very well-illustrated, with pictures of people and places. The National Trust also has lots of LGBTQ content on its webpages. It too owns properties with LGBTQ associations. You can find more information here, and even a series of podcasts by Clare Balding.
The British Library contains many LGBTQ webpages, which all link up to one another helpfully. Examples are Bisexuals in Print, Transgender identities in the past, and Oral histories of love, identity and activism.
Books on LGBTQ history can also be found. These include Alison Oram’s famous study, The Lesbian History Sourcebook : love and sex between women in Britain from 1780 to 1970, Routledge, 2001. I am not aware of a book specifically on Cumbria LGBTQ heritage. However, the diaries of the eighteenth century Anne Lister give a startling insight into some women’s lives in Yorkshire. There are several books relating to Anne Lister in Cumbrian public libraries, for example, The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister (1791-1840), Virago, 2020; Anne Choma, ed. Stella Merz, Gentleman Jack : the real Anne Lister; with a foreword by Sally Wainwright, BBC Books, 2019.
The publishing company, Pen & Sword, has produced some interesting relevant books. Charlotte Furness’s book, Unmarried Women of the Country Estate, Pen & Sword, 2020, includes a section on Anne Lister, as well as discussing other characterful women. Particularly relevant is Gill Rossini’s book, Same Sex Love 1700-1957: a history and research guide, Pen & Sword, 2017. This book contains an overview of LGBTQ history in England, from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries. Chapters include “Changing Attitudes to Male Same-sex Relationships”, “Molly Houses”, “Romantic Friendships Between Victorian Women”, “The Medicalisation of Same-sex Desires”, “Case study: The Masked Ball of 1880 in Manchester”, and “The Beginnings of a Homosexual Social Network”. At the end of this very clearly written book, Rossini has a useful “A Research Guide to Same Sex Relationships”.
I hope that these resources give food for thought. I am sure that there are many more resources out there! Feel free to share some in the comments section.
Acknowledgements:
https://www.history.ac.uk/library/collections/sexuality
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/histories/lgbtq-history/
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/histories/women-in-history/experiments-in-gender/
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/histories/lgbtq-history/researching-lgbtq-history/
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/lgbtq-events-and-stories-at-our-places
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/exploring-lgbtq-history-at-national-trust-places
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/our-lgbtq-podcast-series-presented-by-clare-balding
https://www.bl.uk/lgbtq-histories/articles/bisexuals-in-print
https://www.bl.uk/lgbtq-histories/articles/transgender-identities-in-the-past
https://www.bl.uk/lgbtq-histories/articles/oral-histories-of-love-identity-and-activism
Alison Oram. The Lesbian History Sourcebook : love and sex between women in Britain from 1780 to 1970. Routledge, 2001.
Anne Lister. The secret diaries of Miss Anne Lister (1791-1840). Virago, 2020.
Carlisle public library 306.766 and Kendal public library 306.766
Ed. Stella Merz. Gentleman Jack : the real Anne Lister / Anne Choma ; with a foreword by Sally Wainwright. BBC Books, 2019
Carlisle public library 902 LIS and Workington public library 306.766
A list of books in Cumbria public libraries featuring Anne Lister,
https://cumbria-libraries.org.uk/cgi-bin/koha/opac-search.pl?idx=&q=anne+lister&branch_group_limit=
Charlotte Furness. Unmarried Women of the Country Estate. Pen and Sword, 2020.
Gill Rossini. Same Sex Love 1700-1957: a history and research guide. Pen & Sword, 2017.
LGBT+ Language and Archives 