Queer Footprints: A Guide to Uncovering London's Fierce History

Product Information

I wanted to do Queer Footprints partly because the pandemic happened: we couldn’t do Queer Tours. I really wanted to challenge myself by writing it and expand Queer Tours into a written format. I was also aware that a lot of the people who I’m really inspired by are getting old and I wanted to record their stories. I am also part of a very exciting legal initiative to build a case to take the government to court for the crime that was Section 28, for the harm done to every queer in Britain. It may not be successful but it’s damn well worth a try.

Join us to flagship launch of Queer Footprints: A Guide to Uncovering London’s Fierce History by Dan Glass at London’s leading counter-cultural and LGBTQIA+ archive, Bishopsgate Institute, where the book was also researched and written.

I’ve struggled with my own depression for a long time. When I started connecting with my queer ancestry, I couldn’t get enough. I was so hungry to see the power of owning our roots and celebrating the ancestors whose shoulders we stand on, who fought for our existence today.

But also, all the incredible nooks and crannies (in London and far beyond) which we’ve been denied knowing about. It’s very reparative and healing to be connected on a physical, psychological and spiritual level with our queer community through the generations. LSE Library has been home to the Hall-Carpenter Archives since 1988. It’s an extensive collection of archives, ephemera and printed material documenting the development of gay activism in the UK since the 1950s.Victoria Noe, author of 'Fag Hags, Divas and Moms: The Legacy of Straight Women in the AIDS Community'

Q: The book contains testimonies from LGBTQIA+ activists, business owners, volunteers and artists who speak to the histories (and herstories) you trace across London. Why did you feel it was important to include their voices in Queer Footprints? Ever wanted to learn more about the pulsing heart of queer London's Soho? Dan Glass, author of ‘Queer Footprints: A Guide to Uncovering London’s Fierce History', is here to guide you. There was also reading lots of newspapers, reading other books like Queer London, Matt Houlbrook’s book which [covers] mainly 1918 to 1957, the era just before the one I write about. And also just keeping my ear open for other things – it was a process of active engagement. An incredibly powerful exploration of a London that has been deliberately hidden, by one of the most courageous and insightful activists we have' Stacey Clare, author of 'The Ethical Stripper: Sex, Work and Labour Rights in the Night-time Economy'

Note: This interview gives the views of the author, and not the position of the LSE Review of Books blog, or of the London School of Economics and Political Science. The interview was conducted by Anna D’Alton, Managing Editor of the LSE Review of Books blog. An informative guide which sparkles with humour … this comprehensive and well-researched book takes you on a journey around the famous and infamous places in the capital’