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 …
Tag Archive: Book Review
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 …
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
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 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 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 …
Jan 25
The He-She Ladies – Fanny & Stella Review by Kathryn Hughes, The Guardian
A world of ‘lush longing for embroidered handkerchiefs and soft kisses’ is interrupted by a police campaign to achieve the downfall of the cross-dressing pair. In 1870, two tatty-looking girls were hauled before Bow Street magistrates court and charged with “the abominable crime of buggery”. After a night in the cells, with wigs slipping and stubble …
Jan 24
Great drag queens of their day – A review of Fanny & Stella by John Preston, London Evening Standard
A review appeared in the London Evening Standard today. John Preston says of the Fanny & Stella You would need to be a very dull — or prim — dog indeed not to find this a terrifically entertaining story. Neil McKenna has thrown himself into it with unfettered glee. If the opportunity arises to describe …
Jan 21
Sunday Times Book Review by Dominic Sandbrook for Fanny and Stella
I was delighted to have Fanny and Stella reviewed by Dominic Sandbrook in the book section of The Sunday Times on January 20th 2013. Here are some of the best bits! ‘This rollicking account of the trial of two middle-class cross-dressers unveils one of the most extraordinary legal dramas of the Victorian age.’ …
