Private Worlds: Growing Up Gay in Post-War Britain - Paperback

by Jeremy Seabrook (Author)

'Wonderful ... For anyone who has ever dreamt of leaving a small-town childhood behind them, this is going to wring your heart. It certainly did mine' - Neil Bartlett, author of Address Book

In 1950s suburban England, a friendship bloomed between Jeremy Seabrook and Michael O'Neill - two gay men coming of age at a time when homosexuality was still a crime. Their relationship was inflected by secrecy and fear; the shadows that had distorted their adolescent years were never wholly dispelled, long into their adult life.

Lyrical, candid and poignant, this is a tale of sexual identity, working-class history and family drama. A memoir of unparalleled authenticity, Private Worlds is an elegy for a doomed friendship.

Jeremy Seabrook has been writing books for over half a century. His articles have been featured in the Guardian, The Times and the Independent. He has written plays for stage, TV and theatre, some in collaboration with his close friend, Michael O'Neill. His many books include People Without History: India's Muslim Ghettos and Cut Out: Living Without Welfare.

Author Biography

'An intelligent, sensitive writer'-- Financial Times

'Her bold vision of a single egalitarian state is the only way to break the current log jam'-- Nur Masalha, author of Palestine: A Four Thousand Year History

In 1948, Ghada Karmi and her family in Jerusalem were among the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who were exiled during the creation of the state of Israel. She has since become one of the most vocal proponents of the single democratic state in Palestine-Israel.

In this book, Karmi powerfully argues that a democratic one-state settlement is the best possible route to a just future for all concerned, including Palestinian refugees.

Uniting the land - from the Mediterranean Sea to the River Jordan - and allowing the Palestinian right of return is the only way to end the exclusive and antidemocratic character of the Israeli state.

Ghada Karmi was born in Jerusalem. Forced from her home during the Nakba, she later trained as a Doctor of Medicine at Bristol University. She established the first British-Palestinian medical charity in 1972 and was an Associate Fellow at the Royal Institute for International Affairs. Her previous books include the best-selling memoir In Search of Fatima.