Gender and Sexuality

The war on sex

Item: Fanny and Stella
Author: Paul Morgan

by Paul Morgan •

July–August 2013, no. 353

Fanny and Stella: The Young Men Who Shocked Victorian England by Neil McKenna

Allen & Unwin, $27.99 pb, 417 pp, 9780571302444

Gender and Sexuality

The war on sex

by Paul Morgan •

July–August 2013, no. 353

The trial of Frederick Park and Ernest Boulton in 1870 might have been designed for the media to whip up public outrage in a familiar mix of moral disapproval and prurient detail. As Neil McKenna’s Fanny and Stella reveals, this was indeed the intention of the British government of the day.

Paul Morgan

By this contributor

Paul Morgan is a Melbourne-based novelist, writer, and editor. He is the author of The Pelagius Book (2005) and Turner’s Paintbox (2007); his short stories have appeared in many journals and collections; and for many years he ran the poetry imprint Domain Press. He was also Deputy Director of SANE Australia, the national mental health charity.