So, John Saul got away with writing pornographic stories of his sexual adventures. They knew that the prince probably went to 19 Cleveland Street as well.
It was rumored that Queen Victoria’s grandson was gay, and it was “bad timing” to go after gay men. Gay sex was illegal at that time, but they decided not to prosecute him for sodomy, because it would set in motion a slew of prosecuting every other man who participated in homosexual sex. After publishing his book, John Saul was ordered to appear in court to testify if what he wrote was true about a man named Martin Oranmore Kirwan, who was the son of a wealthy man. The address of 19 Cleveland Street was well-known for being a male brothel. In this book, Saul wrote that prominent members in political society paid him for sex, and even participated in orgies.
#FAMOUS GAY MEN JAMES CODE#
He wrote a book about this experiences called The Sins of the Cities of the Plain or, The Recollections of a Mary-Ann, with Short Essays on Sodomy and Tribadism.Īt that time, male prostitutes were given the nickname “Mary-Ann”, as a code name, so men could refer to their male lover as the common female name “Mary-Ann” without it seeming suspicious. He became a male prostitute to earn some money to get him out of his poor circumstances, and eventually moved to London so he could find some higher paying clients. A man known as John Saul was born in Dublin, Ireland in the 1800s. John Saulĭuring the Victorian Era, people put out the appearance of being very prim and proper, but they were wildly sexual inside their minds and didn’t mind experimenting behind closed doors. Many of the male prostitutes were also Dandies. In the Victorian Era, a “dandy” was a man who always dressed in the newest fashions. Each one of these male sex workers became famous for their lovers, and the impact they left behind on society. In reality, there were plenty of male gigolos earning a good living from providing their company to both women and men. Just like a Bond film, it’s sometimes better to tease in order to tantalise, and the film does not disappoint, with some sizzling chemistry between the male leads.From the glamorous courtesans of the Moulin Rouge to destitute “Fallen women” in the stories of Charles Dickens, most people imagine females when they think of sex workers throughout history. The lack of graphic sex does not preclude the film being sexy. Personally, I think we need more films at this certificate (‘12’) which usualise the experiences of queer people without oversexualising them. You’ll have to decide yourself whether the lack of graphic sex (a selling point of many gay films, it has to be said) is a good thing. There may be a few remaining prudes who find the sight of two men lying in bed together while having a conversation with their shirts off to be beyond the pale, but I doubt they’d be the sort of person to be reading this website.
#FAMOUS GAY MEN JAMES SERIES#
The violence in the opening scene is a bit bloodier than we’ve come to expect from the Bond series but there is no swearing and the sex is nowhere near as graphic as any equivalent scene in any Bond film from the last three decades. Although the DVD edition of the film is rated ‘18’ by the BBFC, this is because the disc contains a bonus film - completely unrelated to the feature - containing strong sex.
One of Jayson Bend’s many delights (again, which I won’t spoil) is the high quotient of innuendos, which are genuinely hilarious and never sleazy.