Mother Clap's Molly House: The Gay Subculture in England 1700–1830

This pioneering study breaks new ground in presenting the gay community's history by sporting one of its more distinctive branches—molly houses. In this updated edition, with two new chapters, Rictor Norton digs deeper into both past and present to rediscover the original foundations of the molly subculture and challenges traditional notions by suggesting that it was primarily composed of the working class—blacksmiths, milkmen, publicans, and shoemakers. More extravagant personalities are investigated as well, such as dramatists Samuel Foote and Isaac Bickerstaff, and the Rev. John Church, denounced for blessing gay "marriages."