History Extra Podcast – “Queer Life in Georgian Britain” (October 2, 2025)

Host: Isabel King
Guest: Dr. Anthony Delaney, author of Queer Georgians: A Hidden History of Lovers, Lawbreakers and Homemakers

Brief Overview

This episode of the History Extra podcast explores the lived experiences of queer individuals in Georgian Britain, guided by Dr. Anthony Delaney’s new book. The conversation unpacks how same-sex attraction and gender nonconformity were understood, negotiated, and expressed during the long 18th century, delving into themes of intimacy, marginalization, law, marriage, friendship, social navigation, and historical memory. Dr. Delaney offers rich anecdotes and challenges assumptions, moving beyond the search for “the gay past” to present a nuanced, rounded history of queer lives.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Terminology and Historical Labels

Timestamps: 01:11–03:44

• “Queer” as a Historical and Modern Term: Dr. Delaney discusses the complexities of using modern terminology, like “queer,” to describe past identities. He argues that historians routinely use anachronistic terms (like “Georgians”) to make history accessible and relatable.
  • Quote:
    “Nobody ever says, why have you used the word Georgians? They wouldn't have known themselves as Georgians either. …We have to give queer histories the same allowances that we offer to every other form of history telling.” (Dr. Anthony Delaney, 01:43)
• Delaney draws on Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick’s idea of “queer” as marking gaps and dissonances around gender and sexuality, not just modern identity categories.

2. Central Themes: Lovers, Lawbreakers, Homemakers

Timestamps: 03:44–05:32

• The book’s structure arose organically, finding that historical queer lives were not just about legal transgression (“lawbreaking”) but also deep domesticity and love.
  • Quote:
    “What we need to do now, I think, is start moving beyond … trying to find the gaze in the past. We’re moving beyond that now, I think, and we’re looking for some nuance, we’re looking for some subtlety, and we’re trying to give a much, much more rounded version of these queer histories.” (Delaney, 04:48)
• Dr. Delaney emphasizes the overlooked home-making and intimate partnerships among same-sex couples, not just “public cruising” or “molly houses.”

3. Queer Spaces and Language: Molly Houses and More

Timestamps: 05:32–09:20

• The Term “Molly”: Possible etymologies range from the Latin “mollis” (soft/effeminate) to links with the name Mary. “Molly” was primarily used within queer subcultures, with “sodomite” appearing in legal documents.
• Other Terms: Introduction of “cock queen” as another label for a domestically-oriented same-sex attracted man.
  • Quote:
    “A cock queen is also a same sex attracted man…The cock queen was a far more domestic creature. He occupied house space. He was concerned with baking and cleaning and interior design and all that kind of fabulous stuff.” (Delaney, 07:18)

4. Male Friendship and Same-Sex Intimacy

Timestamps: 09:20–11:59

• Dr. Delaney draws a nuanced line between “male friendship” (essential for social and professional advancement) and same-sex attraction, noting the intimate overlaps and the challenge of teasing the two apart in the archive.
  • Quote:
    “We know that there are men in the 18th century who are dedicated bachelors and have chosen not to marry. … They share so much of their own intimacies, their own personal domestic work, all kinds of intimacies with the other men in their lives.” (Delaney, 10:16)

5. Marriage, Partnership, and Creative Legal Strategies

Timestamps: 11:59–16:24

• Marriage metaphors were common among same-sex and gender nonconforming couples. Examples include the “Shoot Heads” and the Ladies of Llangollen, both using marital language to describe their unions.
  • Quote (Princess Caroline on the Ladies of Llangollen):
    “I could never marry a female friend because they're too overbearing. …But she says, each to their own taste.” (Delaney, 13:44)
• Adult adoption is identified as a tactic to create legal kinship for inheritance and rights, not only in the modern AIDS era but possibly in Georgian times.
  • Quote:
    “Queer people have always had to be quite fluid in the ways in which they interact with the law…to circumvent things that appear to be in their way by using the mechanisms that are available.” (Delaney, 16:54)

6. Social Risk, Outing, and Reputational Damage

Timestamps: 22:23–26:09

• Outing could have devastating consequences: social ruin, loss of political power, legal persecution, or even death for men; loss of status, exclusion, or loss of financial security for women.
  • Quote (on John Lord Hervey):
    “He was referred to by contemporaries as a member of the third sex—so people said of him, there are men, there are women, and there are Harveys.” (Delaney, 23:39)
• The concept of the “third sex” reflects early recognition of non-binary gender identities.

7. Criminalization and Survival: Newgate Prison and the “Boogering Hold”

Timestamps: 26:09–28:46

• Newgate Prison held all sorts of people, and same-sex attracted men were sometimes segregated in the “boogering hold.”
• Defense strategies often included citing marriage to women and fatherhood as evidence against sodomitical behavior.
  • Quote:
    “There are families at the heart of this, not just the same sex attractive men, there are families that they belong to and that they have produced themselves. So it makes it all the more heartbreaking.” (Delaney, 29:31)

8. The “Third Sex” and Gender Nonconformity

Timestamps: 30:59–33:52

• The “third sex” was a fluid, non-pejorative category, distinct from later Victorian pathologizing approaches.
  • Quote:
    “The Georgians are incredibly curious about these types of things. …the answer [to what is the third sex] is many things and not necessarily something that could easily be categorized.” (Delaney, 31:14)

9. Re-examining Queer Icons: Anne Lister

Timestamps: 33:52–39:40

• Dr. Delaney offers a critical take on Anne Lister, emphasizing her complexities: often controlling, acting as a patriarch, with relationships that could be coercive alongside her groundbreaking identity.
  • Quote:
    “She is a true patriarch. …With Lister, that's really interesting.” (Delaney, 37:09)

10. Intersectionality: Mary Jones and Queer Black History

Timestamps: 39:40–44:28

• Mary Jones, a Black trans woman, is elevated as a queer hero: repeatedly arrested for theft, she survived in a racist, transphobic society and asserted her own identity before the law.
  • Quote:
    “Sometimes all it takes to make history is to keep putting one foot in front of the other. And that is what Mary does.” (Delaney, 43:22)
• The erasure and partial survival of her name in legal records symbolizes the challenge of transgender historical memory.

11. Who Didn’t Make the Book?

Timestamps: 44:28–46:27

• Figures like Princess Seraphina are mentioned, but omitted due to thematic overlap. Delaney prioritizes archival evidence of a “queer life” over speculative or purely literary examples.

12. The Book’s Final Message: Endurance, Legacy, and Inheritance

Timestamps: 46:27–49:30

• Dr. Delaney frames queer Georgian history as an inheritance—vital for all, queer and non-queer, to recognize how deeply rooted queer lives are in British history.
  • Quote:
    “This is our inheritance as queer people and as people who have queer people in their family…This is how deep our roots run.” (Delaney, 46:44)
• He highlights both continuity and change, resilience in the face of adversity, and the importance of nuanced, inclusive historical storytelling for inspiration and validation today.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On terminology and historical empathy:
  “Let’s not get too tangled up on the terminology and let’s make sure that we’re sharing the histories. That’s the most important thing.” (Delaney, 03:35)
• On queer domestic partnerships in Georgian Britain:
  “For me, the most striking thing was how domestic and loving and intimate some of these histories are. In fact, most of them are, despite some of the hurdles that they come up against.” (Delaney, 05:17)
• On resilience and queer inheritance:
  “We want to get beyond enduring…there are lessons in these lives that help shape what we are capable of and help to solidify our existence...” (Delaney, 48:22)
• On Mary Jones:
  “Mary had no choice but to survive. And that is admirable. The instinct to survive when the world was against her to the extent that she was, because of her blackness, because of her what we would now term her transness. She wasn't supposed to survive this system. And yet she does.” (Delaney, 41:22)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:11 – Use of terms like “queer” and anachronistic language in history
• 03:44 – Themes of lovers, lawbreakers, homemakers
• 05:32 – Origins of “Molly” and types of queer men
• 09:20 – Male friendship, bachelorhood, and blurred boundaries
• 12:24 – Marriage, female partnerships, and legal workarounds
• 16:24 – Adult adoption as queer legal strategy
• 22:23 – Outing, reputational/social/legal consequences
• 26:09 – Newgate prison, “boogering hold,” and self-defense
• 30:59 – The “third sex” and Georgian curiosity about gender
• 33:52 – Anne Lister, myth vs. archival reality
• 39:40 – Mary Jones and Black trans resilience
• 46:44 – Queer legacy and inheritance

Conclusion

This episode delivers a vivid, research-driven, and deeply humanizing portrait of queer life in Georgian Britain. Dr. Delaney demonstrates how queer histories are complex, often deeply loving and domestic, shaped by legal and social constraints but also by resourcefulness and community. By unpacking archival sources, challenging the mythologies around figures like Anne Lister, and centering voices like Mary Jones, Delaney argues passionately for the importance of understanding queer history as everyone’s history and as a source of resilience, inspiration, and belonging.

End of content summary. For further reading, see Dr. Delaney’s book: “Queer Georgians: A Hidden History of Lovers, Lawbreakers and Homemakers.”