BOOK REVIEWS

An awardwinning writer, best known for his biographies, and histories of the gay rights movement

(Stonewall, Midlife

Queer, Hold

Tight Gently),

Duberman has never attempted a novel before. Although, this is not exactly a novel, as he concedes in an author’s note. “It forges a path,” somewhere between a historical novel and a traditional work of history, he says. “In my view there remains room in historical writing for informed speculation that moves beyond traditional constrictions… I’ve let my historical research point me to presumptively ‘likely’ feelings and opinions for the personalities involved.”

The personalities and the period are, indeed, fascinating. It’s Germany between 1890 and 1930, with figures such as Prince Philipp von Eulenburg and the circle of gay men who surrounded Kaiser Wilhelm. Also prominent is Count Harry Kessler, the gay aesthete, patron of the arts, and famous diarist; and his friend Walther Rathenau, a Jewish industrialist who became a minister in the Weimar-era government but whose sexuality remained enigmatic. There’s Magnus Hirschfeld, the sexology pioneer who struggled to abolish the law that criminalised sex between men. And, finally, Ernst Rohm, the head of Hitler’s stormtroopers, who rose to his powerful position despite his homosexuality.

With these intriguing figures and the events unfolding in Germany – the Kaiser’s aggression, World War I and its aftermath, the liberating Weimar Republic years, and the rise of the Nazis – the material is very rich. Yet, somehow, Duberman makes heavy work of it and several sections drag. He cites Hilary Mantel (Wolf Hall) in his notes but if that’s where his ambitions lie he falls short of her accomplishment.

Nevertheless, although the book never really soars as a novel, the historical figures and events remain fascinating and it is with the historical detail that Duberman excels. Despite its flaws, still an absorbing read.