As someone who has extensively studied the Enlightenment era as well as queer history in a formal higher academia setting, I really enjoyed this book -- though I recognize it may not be as accessible for readers who are less versed in the area. The author did a good job with research and the way that research was presented -- it was comprehensible and astute. Though at times the writing leaned a bit towards formal academic as opposed to something more narrative that could make it more approachable for the average reader. There were some things in here that were familiar to me and some that were new. For many reasons queer history can be a difficult area to tackle and present, but I did enjoy how it was done here.

Queer history is a tough subject to write about. And tougher to write about when writing for both a public and semi-academic audience. Queer history needs to be told, but how we actually tell these stories is another matter and something queer historians are still debating today.

Queer Enlightenments/Queer Georgians teeters between the academic voice and the voice for a public audience and I'm not sure it totally works. It is quite dry for someone looking for queer anecdotes throughout history and too sparse on the theory for anyone familiar with the historicism of sexuality.

If a historian is going to completely reject Foucault's conclusions on homosexuality (which is an absolutely valid opinion, though I do not believe Delaney's understanding on constructivism to be 'no more than a clever exercise in semantics [that] offers very little in the way of meaningful historical insight or analysis' as he suggests), I believe there is some responsibility to back up the argument of queerness with some theory (particularly Katz, Sedgwick, Butler and Traub, since they are the first that come to mind when looking at 'responses' to Foucault).

This is still an important read for a lay reader -despite it appearing otherwise, I truly believe it's important for non-academic audience to get hung up in academic terminology. However, there if you open one can of worms and specifically refute a theory, there needs to be more cultural context/acknowledgement of just what queerness meant for an individual or in relation to desire and gender for me to recommend it to someone interested in the history of sexuality.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Hard to get through. I was hoping for more of a novelization of the stories, but this really was just text book history in vibe and execution. I learned new things, but it felt like homework reading the entire time.

Queer Enlightenments offers an eye-opening journey into queer history from 1726–1836, spotlighting real people who lived, loved, and resisted long before modern labels. Delaney brings these stories to life with warmth and wit, showing a vibrant spectrum of queer existence—noblemen, adventurers, homemakers, and outlaws alike.

The writing is heartfelt and accessible, balancing humor and heartbreak. Delaney’s compassionate approach makes the book both educational and deeply human.

A minor critique: the chapter format feels a bit fragmented, and at times the historical context could be deeper. But overall, this is a powerful and necessary read that brings forgotten voices into the light. A strong four stars for its originality, heart, and storytelling.

I generally prefer to listen to non-fiction as an audiobook but this still held my attention even in ebook format. I was surprised to see some other reviewers consider this book to be “dry” - I felt that Delaney represented his research in a manner standard to non-fiction books of this type while also maintaining his own voice throughout, particularly when inserting snippets into stories to relate them to the present day or even his own experience as a Queer Irishman.

The period of time Queer Enlightenments focuses on, primarily the Georgian period but more broadly the 1700s, is a period of time I’m not well versed in when it comes to the UK and Ireland, where the majority of the book focuses though there are some figures covered in the US as well as France within this time frame. Lacking the broader historical knowledge of the UK in the 18th century meant that the author’s contextual information of the time period provided in each story was welcome on my end though I can see how that might be a bit tedious for folks more well versed in the politics of the time.

The format of Queer Enlightenments provides a chapter or two dedicated to each chosen subject and there are frequent callbacks to prior chapter contents that reinforces what we’ve been taught particularly in relation to how queer folks are treated across social statuses and nationalities, such as looser laws for American queers of the time or a slightly more relaxed attitude attributed to gay Italian men (at least so far as British religious sensibilities went). This felt very thoroughly researched and even provided new insight into the two people I had known about prior to reading this book, highlighting new evidence the author uncovered while researching these figures that shed a different light on their circumstances.

I appreciated that most of the figures were presented as fully fleshed out humans, both the good, the bad and the ambiguous parts of them. So often, queer historical figures are either exaggeratedly vilified or presented in a sanitized version depending on the goal of the author. These people from hundreds of years ago were presented in a way that makes them feel very real with all their flaws, oftentimes many of which are all too common in present day even though we live in such a vastly different era. One quote in particular really stuck out to me, summing up how I felt reading about the history of our community.

“Our queerness is timeless. It runs through the ancient limestone underfoot and hangs in droplets from the sturdy bows of the evergreen. These are our roots; feel how mighty they are.”

Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for providing me with an eArc, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Publishing date: 07.10.2025 (DD/MM/YYYY)
Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

Queer Enlightenments is definitely enlightening, but ...

I find this book to be very fino heavy, a little dry. Off the bat, this seems to be a shor story collection, but it really isn't. It reads like an essay or like the transcript of a classroom. Some nonfiction readers may find this incredibly slow.

Also, I think a lot of people may find the contents a little rough. If you dislike "bad people" in books you may not like this. Very good at showing that just because you are queer it doesn't mean you are a good person.

Very fitting for libraries, a necessary read for a lot of people, but others may find it dry and "compact". You get a lot of info at once.

Giving this 3 stars. I learned lots, a little dry, very compact.

I got this as an arc on Netgalley and it will come out in October. I liked this deep dive into the history of our queer elders. I knew half of the characters already but a lot was new. It does unintentionally use language around gender identity that is incorrect or confusing but it's noticeable it's not intentional, and that's really my only criticism. I learned a lot from this.

Astonishing debut from Anthony Delaney - rich in detail, research and an astute approach to the past.

hoo boy, this will ruffle some feathers, especially among Anne Lister stans...

This is a well researched book written by an author who is not satisfied with just repeating widely accepted assumptions but digs really deep in historical sources and, sometimes, uncovers truths some people won't want to hear.

Even though it conveys some uncomfortable truths, the POV is compassionate and understanding the need to have queer heroes when we have been largely written out of history. The resulting histories/portraits of less and more widely know figures are more rounded for it.

Read it and you will learn that:
- being queer doesn't automatically mean you are a good person. People are and always have been messy and contain multitudes.
- before worshiping someone as a queer icon/hero, it is worth checking if their gender nonconforming presentation was really their own choice (as with Chevalier d'Éon)
- Anne Lister was much more complicated person than how the Gentleman Jack movie presents her and that the first lesbian marriage maybe wasn't that straightforward (as it were).

The style of the book is highly readable and will be well suited for both academics and public.

“I hope you find companionship in the pages of this book. Not fictional renderings of an imagined better way, but proof of our persistence.” (Delaney) Queer Enlightenments is touching, inspirational, and quite fun to read! I started off feeling like the book was a little slow until I hit chapter three and realized the way the author was building story upon story and weaving these themes together.

I loved the way the stories were presented with a deeply human angle, never treating the subjects as paragons of perfection or of pure pity. There’s such poignancy in reading a historical account written by an openly queer man—it’s unflinching in its examination but still manages to be heartwarming.

It’s a book that makes me proud to be part of a larger community because as he says, “Together, these histories remind us that even when the odds are stacked against us we survive (d’Eon), and that given our tenacity (Lister) we may thrive yet. Each one of us, shoulder to shoulder with the other; nobody left behind.”

An enormous thank you to Anthony Delaney, Atlantic Monthly Press, and NetGalley for this advanced reader’s copy, it was a pleasure to read!

Valuable for public library collections. I can see there being crossover appeal for ya collections as well. .

Great for research or citation, but not ideal for a casual nonfiction read. I found myself wishing for more exposition, placement in history, and guidance on why these stories matter together.

Much of the book reads like a dense stream of names and facts. Sometimes the meaning lands at the end of a chapter, but by then I’ve resorted to skimming past the hometown of the guy who built this guy’s friend’s childhood home.

I appreciated the moments when the author stepped in to the narrative to connect to current day or other historical figures, and even personal experience. I wish those moments had accounted for a much higher percentage of the book

This book was amazing! Rather then perpetuating imagined or inflated history, the author provides a critical but accessible anaylsis of actual queer history in the 1700s and early 1800s. This was such a great read.

A well researched historical look back at 11 stories of gay lives in the eighteenth century. Fascinating lived including the ladies of Llangollen and Anne Lister. Thank you to the author. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

This book delves deep into queer history as we know it, telling the untold stories of queer people in the 18th century. I really enjoyed learning about the different people- I did know some of them, from previous reads- but different takes are always interesting and this one was very compelling.

Queer Enlightenments follows a cast of diverse queer people who lived during the long 18th century. Each chapter (sometimes two) is dedicated to a specific person and describes their known life while sprinkling information about life as a queer person during this time.

I did not know most of the people in this book and it was also very interesting to learn more about the different laws in place at the times. I also liked to learn about the different ways queer people skirted the law to be able to live together.

Unfortunately, it was very dry. From the cover I expected something a bit more fun and quirky but it felt very textbook and some of the chapters dragged (I'm also very uninterested in 18th century English politics).

Great book if you want to learn historical tidbits about real queer people who existed during this time, but if you're looking for some light reading you can probably skip it.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book

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Thanks so much to NetGalley for the free Kindle book. My opinions are my own and are freely given.

This was an amazing non-fiction book detailing the lives of people, most of whom I had never heard of before. Which really is really not that surprising, considering how much of our history has been rewritten. It really amazes me that people think queer people didn't exist before this century. This book could help you combat that misinformation (don't expect miracles, though 😉). Really, though, the more you can learn about history, whether you are part of the queer community or not, is always a good thing.

I definitely would recommend this book to anyone!

Thank you Netgalley, Grove Atlantic, and Anthony Delaney for sending me this advanced review copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a great book for someone wanting to dig deep into Queer history. I will warn you that it is a bit on the dry side, and often reads like a textbook.

There was an incredible amount of information jam packed into these pages, and the histories for each person were surprisingly detailed. I learned so many things about the past, these people, and the horrible (and mostly deadly) way they were treated. These are our histories that have been purposefully buried and forgotten. It's sad to see so many parallels with what is happening in our current time. History just keep repeating itself.

I highly recommend giving this book a read, and I hope you will learn just as much as I did.