Overview
Forbidden Lives is a fascinating collection of portraits and discussions that aims to populate LGBT gaps in the history of Wales, a much neglected part of Welsh heritage. In it Norena Shopland reviews the reasons for this neglect while outlining the activity behind the recent growth of the LGBT profile here. She also surveys LGBT people and their activity as far back as Giraldus Cambrensis' Journey Through Wales in the twelfth century where he reports on 'bearded women' and other hermaphrodites. There is still plenty of work to do, as chapters on the responses to Pride in Wales and the first gay play, We All Fall Down, clearly show. But the stories of the people portrayed in the book are less likely to be repeated: the LGBT community has moved from living forbidden lives to a place largely less forbidding. Norena Shopland helps us understand the struggle which achieved these changes.Reviews
"Norena Shopland has brought together for the first time a collection of these stories. They are gripping in their own right, but they also provide the necessary outline of what a full history of LGBT life in Wales will be." —Jeffrey Weeks, Professor of Sociology, London South Bank UniversityAuthor Biography
Norena Shopland has a Master's degree in heritage studies and has worked for the British Museum, National Museums Scotland and the Museum of London. Now living back in Wales she has worked with leading heritage organizations including National Museums Wales, Glamorgan Archives and Cardiff Story.