Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World, 1890-1940

The award-winning, field-defining history of gay life in New York City in the early to mid-20th century

Gay New York brilliantly shatters the myth that before the 1960s gay life existed only in the closet, where gay men were isolated, invisible, and self-hating. Drawing on a rich trove of diaries, legal records, and other unpublished documents, George Chauncey constructs a fascinating portrait of a vibrant, cohesive gay world that is not supposed to have existed. Called 'monumental' (Washington Post), 'unassailable' (Boston Globe), 'brilliant' (The Nation), and 'a first-rate book of history' (The New York Times), Gay New Yorkforever changed how we think about the history of gay life in New York City, and beyond.