The Queer Thing About Sin
SHORTLISTED FOR FOYLES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025
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The Queer Thing About Sin
Narrated by:
Harry Tanner
Buy Now for £3.99
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Narrated by:
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Harry Tanner
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By:
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Harry Tanner
'BOLD AND BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN' TOM HOLLAND
'MY GOD, THIS BOOK IS NEEDED. HISTORY HAS NEVER SEEMED MORE ALIVE...' RUSSELL T DAVIES
A gripping new journey through ancient history, uncovering the origins of homophobia and the untold stories of those who dared to love.
In the early days of ancient Greece, queer love was celebrated. The most famous warrior in antiquity loved another man, the poet whose lyrics were memorised by philosophers and kings sang of her desire for women. Men could swear oaths of undying love and live out the rest of their lives together in peace. What fragments survive of this ancient world all tell us one thing: it was not a sin to be queer.
In this extraordinary book, Harry Tanner sets out on a journey to discover the origins of homophobia in the West. From the rise of belligerent tyrants to civil unrest and the birth of radical new philosophies, Tanner follows the traces of this sinister idea as it swept across the ancient Mediterranean. Wherever he discovers the roots of homophobia taking hold, from ancient Judea to imperial Rome, Tanner finds a confluence of crises mirrored across the centuries. Inequality, fear and an obsession with self-control – this is how societies turn on their queer citizens, time and time again, since the dawn of history.
This is a powerful story that draws on the rich world of the ancients to reveal how homophobia infected Western religion and ideology - the consequences of which we are still living with today - and to that end how we can move forward and resist homophobia in the future.
'EXTREMELY COMPELLING' ALAIN DE BOTTON
'SCINTILLATING' ORLANDO READE
'FASCINATING' PATRICK NESS©2025 Harry Tanner (P)2025 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
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Critic reviews
A bold and beautifully written quest for the queer in antiquity.
This book is brilliant and mind-bending... My god, this book is needed. History has never seemed more alive, more vital, more dangerous, and more wonderful.
Illuminating and timely.
"An extremely compelling proposition which asks, with personal urgency, how a religion of love can also - somehow - end up as a religion of pain.”
This scintillating history shows how economic crises have led ancient and modern societies to demonize queer love. It could not be more timely.
Learned, nuanced, intelligent and fascinating, this is a vital new work of queer scholarship.
Scholarly, immersive, and vital history of queer intolerance.
[An] impressive debut study. Expansive yet fast-paced, it’s a captivating reimagining of the politics of queer desire.
The work is scholarly and accessible, and deserves its rightful place in a crowded field.
A powerful and informative exploration of the history of homophobia and where it came from. Still a pressing issue today, this is a book every queer person and ally should read! (Sally Pattle)
An affirming and absorbing look at queer antiquity.
If you skip this book, you’re missing out on the kind of excitement you get from reading mythology — but what’s here is true, and a much wider view than mere folklore.
Fascinating.
The Idler’s Book of the Week 27 April 2026
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