Queer Histories in Love and War

Explore the hidden histories of love and desire, particularly for those on the fringes of society, as we delve into the lives of overlooked LGBTQ+ figures with writer and journalist Luke Turner and bestselling author Wendy Moore.

In ‘Jack and Eve: Two Women In Love and At War,’ Moore illuminates the extraordinary tale of Vera ‘Jack’ Holme and Evelina Haverfield, suffragettes turned partners. Jack, known for her acting and cross-dressing roles, served as chauffeur to suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst, finding love with Eve, an aristocratic activist. Together, they ventured to Serbia and Russia during World War I, offering crucial medical aid and driving ambulances to the front lines. Moore’s narrative offers profound insights into the suffragette movement, women’s wartime contributions, and the development of lesbian identity.

Wendy Moore is an award-winning author and freelance journalist with extensive experience writing for national newspapers and medical journals, including The Guardian, The Times, and The Lancet. Author of several acclaimed books, including “The Knife Man” and “Wedlock,” which reached No. 1 on the Sunday Times bestseller list.

In his book ‘Men at War: Lusting, Fighting, Remembering 1939-1945,’ Luke Turner uncovers the stories of conscientious objectors, a bisexual Commando, a pacifist poet who served in Bomber Command, a transgender RAF pilot, and a soldier who endured Japanese POW camps and later became an LGBTQ+ activist. By delving into a wartime experience that encompasses sexuality, desire, and the body as much as strategy and weaponry, Luke argues that understanding the complexity of the lives and identities of those who fought and survived is essential to truly comprehend the Second World War.

Luke Turner is a writer and editor, known for co-founding the influential music website The Quietus and contributing to publications such as The Guardian, Dazed & Confused, Vice, NME, Q, Mojo, Monocle, Nowness, Somesuch Stories, and the BBC.