Not in Front of the Audience: Homosexuality on Stage

Library Journal

This second recent study of homosexuality on stage is a strong complement to John M. Clum's Acting Gay ( LJ 3/1/92). Both books survey the history of modern male homosexuality in English and American drama. Clum begins his analysis in the mid-19th century, de Jongh in 1925. De Jongh addresses historical, cultural, and theatrical issues, while Clum concentrates a little more on textual analysis. Clum has an American bias, de Jongh a British one. Though both books examine many of the same plays, their slightly different focus makes them fine companions. Both are well researched, documented, and written, though de Jongh is slightly more readable. Given its American perspective, Clum's work has the edge, but not by much. If this issue is important in your library, purchase both.-- Thomas E. Luddy, Salem State Coll., Mass.