Unspeakable

A major achievement. Cleves has meticulously recreated the history of a widely practiced sexual culture that will shock readers. Perhaps most startling is just how common and how recent was the celebration of pederasty among public figures like Norman Douglas and his friends. Like other groundbreaking work in the history of sexuality, this bookdemonstrates that both sexual practices and attitudes toward them--even those seen as most taboo--are as subject to reversal as anything else in the broader culture. -- Nicholas L. Syrett, author of American Child Bride: A History of Minors and Marriage in the United States Unspeakable is deeply original, nuanced, and bold. In sharp and often witty prose, Cleves uses the life of Norman Douglas as a way to pry open deep-seated (although relatively recent) assumptions about sex, age, and power. This book will appeal to literary scholars, modernists, historians, and the growing numbers of people focused on sexuality studies, childhood studies, and issues of gender. -- James R. Kincaid, University of Southern California Unspeakable is a brave and beautifully written book, meticulously researched and carefully and ethically handled. Despite writing about a notable early-twentieth century British author who by today's standards is nothing more than a pedophile, Cleves has managed the remarkable feat of producing a rich, compelling, and informative work of both history and biography that is as balanced and dispassionate as one can imagine possible. -- Steven Angelides, author of The Fear of Child Sexuality People will be talking about Unspeakable for a long time to come. Not only does it raise questions that are crucial for the history of sexuality, but it sets new standards for literary biography of an intractable subject. -- Richard Cavell, University of British Columbia