The wounded

How and where did you access it?

Whitechapel Public Library

How did it make you feel?

This novel a bittersweet story of unrequited love set in East End. It is a moving, funny and credible work of fiction. I read this book in the summer of 1984 as a naive 17 year old from South Wales escaping small town life and ending up in a hostel in London’s East End. As I was signing on at this time I did not have much resources to explore the gay scene but as an avid reader since a small child I was thrilled to discover the local library on Whitechapel High Street had its own 'Lesbian and Gay' section. The idea of having access to not just one work of queer literature but an entire shelf full and to see it displayed in public was extremely liberating and empowering. Despite the element of tragedy in The Wounded, reading the book , with its queer linage to the 1950s East End made me feel a sense of connection to this fascinating big city I had just landed in.

Did you share it?

Yes, I purchased a copy from Gays The Word bookshop and gave it as a Christmas present to my mother.

Is there anything else you would like to tell us about it?

This was originally published in 1953, but made out of print for many years because of its sympathetic portrayal of gay characters. It was republished in 1983 by Brilliance Books, a small radical gay publishing company, financed by a grant from the GLC. It now appears to be out of print again. I have obtained a second hand copy and its just as vibrant and magical as when I first read it.

Karl Thomas