Three Queer Lives

Rating:
Summary: "I was happy not to be a criminal in 1967."
Review: Author Paul Bailey's introduction to "Three Queer Lives" focuses on life as a homosexual in Britain before 1967. Prior to 1967, homosexuality was a crime, and Bailey's subjects--Fred Barnes, Naomi Jacobs, and Arthur Marshall led openly homosexual lives during this period. Barnes and Jacobs both died before 1967, so they did not live to see themselves 'de-criminalized'. The last subject--Arthur Marshall died in 1989.

Fred Barnes was the son of a butcher, but he had no interest in joining his father in the family business. Fred's childhood love of dressing up and acting roles for his mother developed into a desire to go onto the stage. Fred Barnes was a music hall and pantomime success. He led a flamboyant lifestyle, and made no attempts to hide his homosexuality. One of his favourite activities was to go and watch the naval, military and aviation exercises that were held annually at the Olympia Stadium in London. Barnes was ruled "a menace to His Majesty's fighting forces" and he wasn't supposed to be near the place. There's a hilarious description of Barnes tenaciously sneaking into the event, and sailors warning him when capture was imminent. Barnes was a very colourful character whose life was ultimately marred by personal tragedy connected to his homosexuality.

The section on Arthur Marshall seems dull in comparison to the flamboyance and extroverted lifestyle of Barnes. But by far the best and the meatiest section of the book concerns Naomi Jacob.

Jacob was a remarkable woman who led a full and fascinating life. The author met her once while he was working in a bookshop, and he mistook her for J.B Priestly--thanks to her masculine attire and deep voice. Jacob began her working life as a teacher, but also went onto the stage, served as a personal secretary and later became a prolific author. Jacob claimed that she served as a seaman--successfully passing as a male in WWI. She also served in the Women's Legion in WWI, until a nasty case of trench foot sent her to the hospital. She was a suffragette, and upon two occasions her domestic arrangements involved a menage a trois with two other women. She won the Eichelberger Prize (1935) for "services to humanity", but when Jacob learned she shared the prize with Adolf Hilter for "Mein Kampf", she refused it. She "barged her way through the Second World War" and volunteered for numerous organisations. She survived 2 bouts of tuberculosis and a struggle with malaria. By the end of Jacob's biography, I was both impressed by the sheer force of her personality, and amused by her idiosyncrasies (she lectured that all Restoration playwrights were "smutty"). What a shame her name seems so little known.

"Three Queer Lives" delivers exactly what its title promises--a glimpse into the lives of three very different people who all chose to live openly as homosexuals when it was illegal to do so. Barnes was flamboyant, and ultimately self-destructive. Marshall was positively tame in comparison. The section on Marshall is the weakest and driest of the three. Naomi Jacob's life story is phenomenal, and I laughed out loud at some of the episodes. "Three Queer Lives" is worth reading for Jacob's story alone--displacedhuman