Dr Tim Stanley wrote an article about Fanny & Stella recently in The Telegraph On April 28, 1870, two young gentlemen turned up to the Strand Theatre, London in evening frocks. Ernest Boulton went by the name of Stella and Frederick Park liked to be called Fanny. The behaviour in their box was outlandish and outrageous, …
Category Archive: Fanny and Stella
Jan 16
‘..a gripping and startling account of the arrest and prosecution of two Victorian drag queens’
I was recently interviewed by New Books in Biography about Fanny & Stella. You can read part of the review below or listen to me being interviewed here ‘Through meticulous research and lush, incisive prose, McKenna presents a gripping and startling account of the arrest and prosecution of two Victorian drag queens. It’s a deft performance that …
Aug 15
Criminal case rocked Victorian London to its knickers, as it were!
Fanny & Stella has now reached Canada! The Toronto Star recently posted a review. By: Nancy Wigston Staff Reporter., Published on Fri Jul 26 2013 In 1870, a sensational criminal case rocked Victorian London to its knickers, as it were. Two male transvestites — who’d adopted the names Fanny and Stella — were arrested outside the Strand …
Aug 15
An interview with British Weekly – Southern California’s British Accent
Fanny & Stella are going global! Here is an article based on my interview with Gabrielle Pantera of British Weekly Exclusive interview with author Neil McKenna and a review of his new biography that traces the arrest and spectacular trial of two notorious drag queens in Victorian England “I was struggling to think of a …
Jul 23
Blue Plaque recognition for ‘illegal’ cross-dressing double act ‘Stella and Fanny’
Following on from my earlier post, you can read more about the day I unveiled the plaque at 13 Wakefield Street to commemorate Fanny & Stella. This article was written by Alice Hutton and appeared in the Camden New Journal recently. A PLAQUE has been unveiled on a Bloomsbury church in honour of a Victorian …
Jul 16
Plaque unveiled to Fanny & Stella at 13 Wakefield Street
On 10th July I unveiled the commemorative plaque to Ernest Boulton and Frederick Park, Fanny and Stella, on the site of 13 Wakefield Street, London, their drag dressing rooms. The Mayor of Camden and Councillor Jonathan Simpson were there along with many supporters. Gay’s the Word bookshop also sold copies of Fanny & Stella on …
Jul 10
A Fanny & Stella Review by Xandra
I have just come across another review of my book, Fanny & Stella, by the blogger Xandra ‘A fantastic read, well researched, superbly written and a work which keeps the reader riveted, as well as laughing one moment and weeping the next.’ You can read the full review here
Jul 08
Fanny and Stella to be honoured with historic plaque on King’s Cross church
A Plaque commemorating the cross-dressers is to be put up on the wall of a United Reformed Church in King’s Cross, London soon. Tom Foot from the CamdenNewJournal has the story. I am looking forward to the unveiling. ‘A PLAQUE commemorating a celebrated Victorian cross-dressing double act is to be bolted onto the national headquarters of …
May 23
Catherine Pope – Victorian Geek – reviews Fanny & Stella
Catherine Pope reviewed my book, Fanny & Stella, on her blog recently. Here are some of the best bits about me! “McKenna’s writing style is unashamedly camp as his subjects, but it suits the book perfectly, giving a sense of their exuberance and vivacity. His genuine enthusiasm and affection for the subject is evident on …
May 07
A pair of ‘questionable leather trousers’ at the Brighton Festival!
If you have read the previous blog post, you will know that I gave a talk about Fanny & Stella at The Brighton Festival recently, which was reviewed by Duncan Hall in The Brighton Argus. If you have read it, you will also know that he described me as ‘clad in a pair of questionable …
May 06
Fanny And Stella, Brighton Dome Studio Theatre, May 4 2013 by Duncan Hall
Following my talk at the Brighton Festival recently, Duncan Hall gave me a glowing review in The Argus. Here it is. If Neil McKenna’s talk had a message it was that gay history is all around, if people are only willing to look. His book Fanny And Stella tells of the scandalous early 1870s …
Apr 15
Interview with Future Radio and Nick Cordingly
I was interviewed recently on the Pride Live Show by Nick Cordingly of Future Radio about Fanny & Stella. You can listen to a recording here. We talk about how I came to write the book, cross dressing and gay history.
Apr 09
Polari Magazine – An Interview with Christopher Bryant
Christopher Bryant, of Polari Magazine, talks to Neil McKenna about the arrest and trial of Fanny and Stella in 1870, a scandal that rocked Victorian England and revealed a hidden underworld of female impersonators and male prostitutes. Read the whole interview here
Apr 02
‘Fanny & Stella… a keyhole to our Victorian past.’ Another great review
Fanny and Stella is a book that acts as a keyhole to our Victorian past that allows readers to spy on the activities and atrocities that occurred during the time of Fanny and Stella. Activities that may be raucous to overly sensitive minds and atrocities that make us both realise how far we have …
Mar 21
A Word from Neil McKenna – Terry Eagleton and ‘casual homophobia’
A Word from Neil McKenna – Terry Eagleton and ‘casual homophobia’ Several people have asked me to explain the background and circumstances which led me to publish the full, unedited text of my letter to the London Review of Books. In particular, they have asked why I have accused Terry Eagleton of ‘casual homophobia’. So here …
Mar 18
Reviewed: Fanny & Stella – The Young Men in Women’s Clothes by Juliet Jacques, NewStatesman
Neil McKenna’s book revisits one of Victorian Britain’s most explosive trials. The Charge of Personating Women Yesterday afternoon the Bow-street Police-court and its approaches were literally besieged by the public, owing to the re-examination of the two young men, Ernest Boulton aged 22 of 43, Shirland-road, Paddington, and Frederick William Park, aged 23, …
Mar 07
Tales of a Victorian sensation – by Charles Thomson, The Yellow Advertiser
Charles Thomson wrote the following review which appeared in The Yellow Advertiser, Basildon edition. He has captured the energy and spirit of the book very well. TRANSVESTITE prostitutes will take centre stage at an Essex Book Festival event in two weeks. Author Neil McKenna will appear at Chelmsford Library to discuss his new book, ‘Fanny and …
Mar 07
How crossdresser was accepted in Victorian Edinburgh – A review of Fanny & Stella in The Scotsman
The following review was published in The Scotsman on Wednesday 6 March 2013 WITH petticoats swishing the ground, blonde tresses artfully curled beneath a bonnet and a small bustle giving the fashionable figure of the day, Stella Boulton’s appearance on Princes Street turned heads. But not all the gasps and curious stares were perhaps for …
Mar 05
Excellent Review for Fanny & Stella in Lambda Literary by Cheryl Morgan
The following review was posted on 03. Mar, 2013 by Cheryl Morgan, Lambda Literary in Bio/Memoir, Reviews. It is a very thoughtful, well-written and fair review. Cheryl has obviously picked up every nuance of the book. When we think of Victorian England we tend to assume a moral code that was as tightly laced as …
Feb 14
Another fantastic review for Fanny and Stella – Wildely Ahead of Their Times
Gay City News published a review on February 13th by Doug Ireland. Here are the best bits: “Boulton and Park have been brought to life again in a riveting new book published last week in London by the venerable publishing house of Faber and Faber. “Fanny and Stella: The Young Men Who Shocked …
