Outrages: Sex, Censorship, and the Criminalization of Love

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In 1857, Britain enacted a new civil divorce law and a stringent obscenity law, alongside an 1861 Act that intensified the criminalization of sodomy. These laws established modern concepts of state censorship and intruded into personal lives. In 1861, John Addington Symonds, a young Oxford student aware of his attraction to men, quickly renounced a love poem he had written for another young man. The narrative chronicles Symonds' struggle and ultimate victory during a time when even private letters could lead to severe legal consequences for same-sex expressions. Drawing from various scholars of censorship and LGBTQ+ legal history, Wolf illustrates how state censorship and prosecution impacted lives long before Oscar Wilde's infamous trial, affecting contemporaries like Christina and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Algernon Charles Swinburne, Walter Pater, and Simeon Solomon. Meanwhile, Walt Whitman's *Leaves of Grass* circulated illicitly, inspiring readers with its themes of freedom and love. Despite significant risks, Symonds sought to convey that love between men was natural and noble. He produced a candid secret memoir, an influential essay on modern ethics, and became a foundational figure in LGBTQ+ rights. Wolf's work not only highlights Symonds' story but also emphasizes the crucial roles of publishers, booksellers, and free speech amidst rising censorship and state privacy violations, celebrating one man's defiance and vision