Quotes
“This boisterous history captures the variety and creativity of the sexual outsiders who congregated around the economic hub of the Brooklyn Navy Yard.” New York Times
“A funny, tender, and disturbing history of LGBT life… uncovering what life was like for ‘ordinary’ queer folk.” The Guardian (London)
“[A] boisterous, motley new history…an entertaining and insightful chronicle…enhanced by original research in newspaper archives, unpublished letters, and collections of ephemera.” New York Times Book Review
“The archival discoveries that Ryan has made evoke a world of affection and pleasure.” New Republic
“Illustrates Brooklyn’s culture of gender and sexual fluidity from the 1850s onward, a story often erased in favor of highlighting other historically queer New York City neighborhoods like Greenwich Village and Harlem.” Los Angeles Review of Books
“Traces the borough’s vibrant, forgotten queer history…restoring its rightful place in the saga of Brooklyn.” Bay Area Reporter
“A journey through the queer history of Brooklyn, full of vaudeville and poetry.” Jezebel.com
“An exquisite, strange, and beautiful book.” Out.com
“Employing a dynamic combination of meticulous research and impassioned prose, Ryan… offers a richly evocative chronicle filled with notable queer game-changers…a romantic, exquisite history of gay culture.” Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“A lively, character-filled portrait and well-researched analysis…[that] offers a valuable broadening of historical perspective.” Publishers Weekly