Blue Billy’s Rogue Lexicon

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Strap in for a rollicking descent into 18th-century London's queer underworld. 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 bawdyhouse in Southwark - the house he worked in during his ascent and where he earned the name Blue Billy. Here 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 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.

By turns bawdy, heartfelt, and lyrical this true-to-language period piece is a visionary bildungsroman perfect for fans of Alexis Hall's A Lady for a Duke and Mackenzi Lee.

'I am a really big fan of what this author is doing with queer historical writing.'

• KJ Charles, author of The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen