Drag - A British History Book

RELEASE DATE - 29 AUGUST 2023

A rich and provocative history of drag's importance in modern British culture. 
 
Drag: A British History is a groundbreaking study of the sustained popularity and changing forms of male drag performance in modern Britain. With this book, Jacob Bloomfield provides fresh perspectives on drag and recovers previously neglected episodes in the history of the art form.
 
Despite its transgressive associations, drag has persisted as an intrinsic, and common, part of British popular culture―drag artists have consistently asserted themselves as some of the most renowned and significant entertainers of their day. As Bloomfield demonstrates, drag was also at the centre of public discussions around gender and sexuality in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, from Victorian sex scandals to the "permissive society" of the 1960s. This compelling new history demythologises drag, stressing its ordinariness while affirming its important place in British cultural heritage.

"Drag: A British History is a foundational work. It tells a great story, commands a wide array of sources, and maintains a clear sense of purpose. Drag is of significant value to theatre history, British studies, and cultural studies of drag."
Lisa Sigel, author of The People's Porn: A History of Handmade Pornography in America

"This first sustained and systematic academic history of drag in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Britain is written with a clear sense of how drag's nature, reception, and regulation have changed radically over time and have varied dramatically depending on its content and location. A wonderful read that has the potential to make a real impact on academic and nonacademic audiences alike."
Matt Houlbrook, author of Queer London: Perils and Pleasures in the Sexual Metropolis, 1918-1957