KATHERINE O'DONNELL is Head of Women's Studies in the School of Social Justice, University College Dublin, Republic of Ireland. She has published widely on the topic of Eighteenth-century Irish literature. She has edited Palgrave Advances in Irish History with Leeann Lane and Mary McAuliffe and Twenty-First Century Lesbian Studies, with Noreen Giffney (Harrington Press). MICHAEL O'ROURKE is the editor (also with Katherine O'Donnell) of Queer Masculinities,1550-1800: Siting Same-Sex Desire in the Early Modern World (Palgrave Macmillan, 2006) and (with Noreen Giffney) of The Ashgate Companion to Queer Theory. His many articles focus on queer theory, the history of sexuality, and Continental philosophy.
'This is a well-conceived and provocative collection that will be important not only to historians of sexuality but to social and cultural historians generally. The essays are focused, original and often surprising, and point toward significant new areas of study. The book is a moving and appropriate tribute to the work of the late Alan Bray.' - Professor Stephen Orgel, Department of English, Stanford University 'These substantial and accomplished essays focus on a precise but densely resonant period, unravelling the links between sexuality, friendship, manhood and subjectivity. A confident, stimulating and entirely readable collection by some of the top experts in the field, with implications for the whole idea of sexuality' - Professor Alan Sinfield, Sussex University 'An impressive and wide-ranging collection, whose contributors, including David Halperin, Alan Stewart, and Mario Di Gangi, are leaders in the field of early modern queer studies.' - Huntington Library Quarterly 'A very welcome contribution to the histories of sexuality, masculinity, and emotion. This collection is an important development in the history of masculinity. It is also an example of how this field is leading the way in gender history.' - Men and Masculinities