Written 12 years before Teleny by Saul, this account of Victorian cross-dressing and rent-boys is a legend all its own. Based on the true story of a male brothel in Cleveland Street (later shut down.) Subtitled: "or, The Recollections of a Mary-Anne." The "Cities of the Plain" are of course Sodom and Gomorrah.

The writer of these notes was walking through Leicester Square one sunny afternoon last November, when his attention was particularly taken by an effeminate, but very good-looking young fellow, who was walking in from of him, looking in shop-windows from time to time, and now and then looking round as if to attract my attention. Dressed in tight-fitting clothes, which set off his Adonis-like figure to the best advantage, especially about what snobs call the fork of his trousers, where evid...

Written 12 years before Teleny by Saul, this account of Victorian cross-dressing and rent-boys is a legend all its own. Based on the true story of a male brothel in Cleveland Street (later shut down.) Subtitled: "or, The Recollections of a Mary-Anne." The "Cities of the Plain" are of course Sodom and Gomorrah.

"The Sins of the Cities of the Plain" is presented as a memoir written by Mary-Ann, a fictional character who recounts her experiences and observations of the morally depraved elements of society. The novel offers a detailed and candid exploration of the lives of those involved in London's underground world of vice, particularly focusing on the activities of sex workers and the darker aspects of urban life.The narrative is structured as a series of recollections and personal anecdotes from...

The Green Carnations: Gay Classics Boxed Set offers readers an intricate tapestry of narratives, essays, and reflections that delve deeply into LGBTQ+ themes throughout literary history. This collection brings together a rich array of voices, exploring diverse literary styles ranging from the incisive satire of Oscar Wilde to the classical narrative complexities found in Petronius. Each piece resonates with its own interpretation of identity, queer culture, and societal critique, contribut...

Love Has No Gender—Pride Month Special Series gathers writing across antiquity, the nineteenth century, and modernism to trace the many idioms through which same-sex desire, gender variance, companionship, secrecy, and self-fashioning have entered literature. Poetry, satire, Gothic fiction, social realism, decadent prose, and experimental modernist writing coexist here, revealing love as both private feeling and public question. From the lyric compression associated with Sappho and the iro...

'Love Has No Gender - Gay Classics Collection' serves as a seminal anthology, traversing extensive literatural landscapes through its rich tapestry of styles and themes, all anchored in the exploration of LGBTQ+ experiences across different epochs. Each piece in this collection, whether it is a poignant prose, an evocative poem, or a gripping narrative, delves deep into the notions and nuances of identity, love, and societal norms. This collection not only celebrates the diversity within t...

The Green Carnations Collection offers a textured exploration of the nuanced intersections between aestheticism and decadence in literature, weaving together diverse perspectives from the 19th and early 20th centuries. The anthology captures a moment in literary history where the flamboyance and the subtleties of the aesthetic movement were articulated through various styles ranging from poetic dramas to fin-de-siècle novels. Standout pieces within the collection explore themes of identity...

The Green Carnations: Gay Classics Boxed Set gathers a capacious genealogy of same-sex desire, coded identity, urban sociability, and aesthetic rebellion across antiquity and the modern period. Its range encompasses classical satire, travel-inflected reflection, decadent wit, realist fiction, and franker varieties of erotic and social narrative. Rather than presenting gay literature as a single tradition, the set illuminates its shifting languages—from allusion and irony to confession and ...

The Sins of the Cities of the Plain (1881) is an erotic novel attributed to Irish prostitute Jack Saul. Published by William Lazenby, a prominent printer of Victorian erotica, The Sins of the Cities of the Plain is considered to be one of the first works of literature dedicated to homosexuality in the English language. “‘Saul, Jack Saul, sir, of Lisle Street, Leicester Square, and ready for a lark with a free gentleman at any time. What was it made you take a fancy to me?...

In "The Sins of the Cities of the Plain; or, The Recollections of a Mary-Ann," Jack Saul delves into the underbelly of Victorian society, exploring themes of sexuality, morality, and the complexities of identity through the realistic and often stark narrative of a male sex worker. Employing a candid, unfiltered prose style that reflects the raw experiences of the protagonist, the novel emerges as a pioneering work within the genre of queer literature. Saul's vivid depictions and intricate ...

The Green Carnations: Gay Classics Boxed Set offers a vivid exploration of themes centered around love, identity, and societal norms, capturing the essence of life and literature from eras past. The curated selections span across a range of literary styles, including the decadence of Wilde, the adventurous narratives of Winthrop, and the audacious escapades of Petronius. This collection emphasizes the dynamic spectrum of queer narratives, encapsulating tales of both harm and liberation, sh...