Cornwall Uncharted Mapping Cornwall's Queer History of Concealment, Culture and Creativity
Produktdetaljer
Biografisk notat
Dr PAUL TAYLOR-McCARTNEY is a writer, researcher and lecturer in Cornwall. His interests include dystopian studies, creative writing and teacher education. His poetry, short fiction and academic articles have appeared in a wide range of print and electronic form. His debut children’s novel, Sisters of the Pentacle, was published by Hermitage Press (2022) and fiction titles he has recently worked on as commissioning editor of Hermitage Press have won multiple regional readers’ and publishers’ awards. As an active member of the LGBQT+ community, he works to bring marginalised voices to the fore and he is an avid reader of queer fiction.<p>'I fell in love with Cornwall all over again with this captivating, beautifully written book. Paul Taylor-McCartney threads queerness through the county’s extraordinary land and seascape – showing how place and locality matter to the way we think about and experience desire, friendship and community. In a narrative at once historical , poetic and deeply personal, he centres the county in a wider queer history of artistic and political networks, of punitive national laws, and of the devastation wrought by the HIV virus. There is, he shows, a particular Cornish inflection to queer concealment, creativity and culture (Taylor-McCartney’s guiding themes) – and has been for centuries. Richly illustrated and with tantalising guides to further reading, <em>Cornwall Uncharted</em> vividly remaps this corner of England – for everyone.'</p>
- Professor Matt Cook author of <i>Writing Queer History (Writing History)</i> and <i>Queer Beyond London: LGBTQ Stories from Four English cities.</i>,
<p>‘A wonderfully written and timely presentation of Cornwall’s queer history. A book that reminds us of the diversity of voices this county has always held and that it is a place where the landscape itself has provided haven and shelter. A marvellous achievement.’</p>
- Sam K Horton, author of <i>Gorse and Ragwort</i>,
<p>‘A fascinating book. Part sensitive scholarly enquiry, part personal odyssey, part offbeat guidebook to Cornwall's little-known queer histories and places, Cornwall Uncharted brings stories of hidden lives gently into the light and reminds us of the multiple ways of being and belonging within the Cornish landscape.’</p>
- Tim Hannigan, the author of <i>The Granite Kingdom: A Cornish Journey</i>,
<p>‘Paul’s guide through the past few centuries of Queer Cornwall in the arts is evocative, well-researched and timely.’</p>
- Luke Thompson, writer, publisher and academic from Cornwall
<p>'A fascinating read, packed with information. As you read, you feel as if the author is sitting beside you, talking to you — a stroke of genius in a factual book.'</p>
- Ann Willmore, official Daphne du Maurier website, June 2026
Cornwall Uncharted reveals the county's vibrant queer histories for the first time, tracing a hidden tapestry of creativity and community from the eighteenth century to today. Through an original synthesis of art and literary analysis – examining studio paintings, poetry, novels and private manuscripts – as well as meticulous archival research in coaching-inn records, market ledgers, architectural surveys and wartime reminiscences, this rigorous study reconstructs the social and cultural worlds where nonconforming lives were forged.
Six thematic chapters – from urban concealments and coastal artist retreats to lighthouses, rural hinterlands, du Maurier’s literary landscapes and contemporary grassroots networks – demonstrate how Cornwall’s unique geography shaped queer expression and solidarity.
Challenging metropolitan-centric narratives, this book offers a compelling model of peripheral resistance and belonging, inviting scholars and general readers alike to rediscover Cornwall as a crucial site of queer innovation.
The first comprehensive topographical mapping of Cornwall’s queer past (and present), revealing hidden coves, moors and harbours as creative refuges.
The first comprehensive mapping of Cornwall’s queer past, revealing hidden coves, moors and harbours as creative refuges.