Content area
Full Text
RICTOR NORTON. Mother Clap's Molly House: The Gay Subculture in England 1700-1830. London: GMP, 1992. Pp. 302. $24.95 (paper).
"It was not until about 1700," asserts Mr. Norton, "that gay men began to gather together within a structured social organization which we can popularly call a subculture." He defines subculture with sociological precision, pointing to five characteristics exhibited by subcultures considered deviant by those in the "larger, enclosing culture": 1) "social gatherings attended exclusively by members sharing the 'significant factor,' " 2) private communication networks, 3) private vocabularies, 4) "self-identification" with the group and "common patterns of behavior," 5) self-protective behavior.
The chief value of his book lies in its documentation of the "molly" subculture among London's tradesmen - shopkeepers, cabinetmakers, butchers, and chandlers. From trial records...