An important and largely untold part of LGBT history is captured perfectly in Forbidden Lives: LGBT Stories From Wales.
In a time where LGBT people are accepted more than ever (though there is still work to be done), it’s important that the stories of those who paved the way are remembered.
Author Norena Shopland has lovingly trawled the Welsh archives for evidence of past lives lived in society’s shadows; the stories herein are both inspiring and heartbreaking in equal measure. One of the more famous stories within the book is that of the Ladies Of Llangollen, two aristocratic ladies who fell in love in the late 1700s and had to escape to Wales to be together.
Elsewhere, the question of heteronormativity is raised and examined in the case of Peggy Evans, who was known to be the greatest hunter and fisher of her time as well as being a blacksmith, boatbuilder, and maker of harps. Her like was virtually unheard of for women of the era.
In more recent times, anyone living in Cardiff will already be aware of the annual Pride March, but were you aware that after the inaugural marches in the 1980s, it actually was outlawed for a number of years?
Going beyond the well-publicised stories of Gareth Thomas, Ivor Novello, and more recent gay icons, Forbidden Lives digs deep into Welsh history and finds some truly inspirational characters. There are lessons to be learned from our past and Shopland has done a fantastic job of bringing them together in this book.
words CHRIS ANDREWS
Price: ÂŁ12.99. Info https://www.serenbooks.com/Â