Forbidden Desire in Early Modern Europe: Male-Male Sexual Relations, 1400-1750 upends almost everything the academic world thought we knew about the subject... It is rare to find such a combination of original and polyglot research, moral courage and crisply elegant prose. * Daniel Johnson, Books of the Year 2024, The Critic * A work of deep scholarship... It is hard not to be swept up by Malcolm's tsunamic intelligence. * Peter Hoskin, Books of the Year 2024, Prospect * An exemplary exercise [ in historical research], and overturns many orthodoxies. * Jonathan Clark, Books of the Year 2024, Times Literary Supplement * After Forbidden Desire ...sexuality studies has been moved into a new space. * Todd Reeser, Author of Setting Plato Straight: Translating Ancient Sexuality in the Renaissance, and Professor of French and Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, USA * Sir Noel Malcolm continues to produce books of the highest quality. I have had the privilege of reading the typescript of his latest book, Forbidden Desire in Early-Modern Europe: Male-Male Sexual Relations, 1400-1750. It is a work of stunning erudition, drawing upon material in most European languages. About 170, 000 words long, and written with Sir Noel's customary elegance and lucidity, it is far and away the best book to have been written on this challenging subject. * Sir Keith Thomas, Author of Religion and the Decline of Magic, and Honorary Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford * A book of startling originality and depth. The abundance of Malcolm's archival research, the range of languages and the geographical diversity of his material are stupendous... No one else has had the temerity or linguistic skills to attempt so comprehensive a survey. * Richard Davenport-Hines, The Spectator * Ambitious... full of real scholarly inquisitiveness and human sensitivity. * Daniel Brookes, Daily Telegraph * [ A] magnificently researched and gripping book. * Andrew Hadfield, Irish Times * [ A] learned forensic analysis... timely work. * Diarmaid MacCulloch, The Times * Noel Malcolm's survey... debunks many myths, but mostly catalogues the extreme violence perpetrated against those judged to have broken religious doctrine. * Peter Conrad, The Observer * A masterclass of what historians can and cannot do with evidence... Malcolm is one of the few preternaturally gifted linguists who could take on such a diverse source base... Noel Malcolm's sweeping survey has given us a lot to chew on. It is a powerful indictment of a priori theorizing. His answers raise new questions that need further investigation. * Jan Machielsen, TLS * [ A] deeply erudite, highly original and epoch-making book... This is a work of formidable scholarship that will transform its subject but, like all the best historians, Malcolm is also an elegant writer who never allows his vast corpus of material to obscure his argument... this is an academic page turner. * Daniel Johnson, Engelsberg Ideas * An important [ book], put together with the ambition and carefulness that those familiar with Malcolm's work on other topics have come to expect... this is likely to be an epochal study in its field. Powered by breathtaking care and scholarship, it is a book that specialists will be grappling with for years to come. * Tim Smith-Laing, Literary Review * Marshaling an impressive array of sources, Malcolm's lucid prose conveys a vivid sense of the lived realities of his subjects. The result is a landmark volume of social history. * Publishers Weekly * The sweep of this book is impressive and its erudition is without question. It moves easily from broad analysis to specific detail... a scholarly work of history, taking a measured and informed view. * Lucy Wooding, The Tablet * One of the most thought-provoking books I have read in some time... an ambitious comparative study that raises plenty of questions. * Catherine Fletcher, History Today * One of the most compelling and accomplished pieces of social history that I have read... Forbidden Desire is an extraordinary achievement -and the work of an extraordinary historian. * Rhodri Lewis, Prospect * With its comprehensive analyses of varied sources and search for deeper understanding, Forbidden Desire in Early Modern Europe's investigation of one part of gay history is illuminating. * Addissyn House, Foreword Reviews * I felt respect for the measured advance of this work and its call to eschew easy links between a topic of research and current global experience... the book is a surprising exposition of how to research and argue a slippery subject. * Matthew Hawkins, Morning Star * This is historical scholarship at its best, presented in an eminently readable fashion and supported by an extensive bibliography and detailed notes... a major contribution to the study of human sexuality and its history. * Natalie K. Watson, Church Times * A monument of careful scholarship. * David Luhrssen, Shepherd Express * [ Malcolm] is a master historian with a remarkable flair for languages and an unusual rigour with evidence. * Miles Pattenden, Australian Book Review * Malcolm's prose is lively and engaging. * Choice * A new book from Noel Malcolm is always an event and "Forbidden Desire in Early Modern Europe" does not disappoint. Combining polyglot archival virtuosity with perspicacious revisionism and literary elegance, "Forbidden Desire" is a work of breathtaking ambition and accomplishment... Historians of sexuality will be reckoning with this book for decades. And for the rest of us, the book is a wonderful opportunity to see the maestro at work. Not to be missed. * Joseph Hone, History Today * The fact that this book is the first attempt at providing a pan-European overview of the pre-modern history of male homosexuality, and offers this through the prism of historical/cultural/regional models, makes Noel Malcolm's Forbidden Desire an important landmark in the history of sexuality and queer studies. * Hanna Filipova, The Journal of Religious History, Literature and Culture *
