Blue Billy's Rogue Lexicon - David Lawrence - Bog

Two men offer two very different futures to a young rogue struggling to make his way in 1771 London. Blue Billy's Rogue Lexicon is a meticulously researched dive into 18th century London's queer underworld - the journey of a young man searching for himself which just might lead him to first love.

William Dempsey rose from a life of thieving and prostitution to be the personal plaything of the Marquess of Argyll. Then, a betrayal sees him returned to the rough streets of London without patronage, his West End apartment, or a place among the ton.

So on a stormy night, he arrives at a house in Southwark - Marathon Moll's in the Mint - the bawdyhouse he worked in during his ascent and where he earned the name Blue Billy. Here, amidst the parties and antics at Moll's, he meets Tom, a quiet, conflicted man, who senses in Billy a kindred soul. The attraction is immediate, and they take the first, tentative steps towards each other. But soon Billy is struggling to understand Tom's motivations. And Tom's silences open the spaces for doubts to grow.

Then an echo from the past brings the promise of a much different future - a seductive young rogue arrives at the house and asks Billy to return to his roots.

To the street language of vagabonds. The canting dialect of thieves.

To the schemes, and the dreams, of his youth.