London Triptych

London itself is as powerful a presence here as the three gay men whose lives it absorbs. Vivid and visceral, London Triptych cuts deep to reveal the hidden layers of a secret history. Rent boys, aristocrats, artists, and criminals populate this sweeping novel in which author Jonathan Kemp interweaves the lives and loves of three very different men in gay London across the decades. In the 1890s, a young man named Jack apprentices as a rent boy and discovers a life of pleasure and excess. A century later in 1998, David recounts his experience of unashamed decadence from prison, recalling his days arriving in London in the mid-'80s during the AIDS crisis. Their paths cross in the 1950s, when gay men faced police and political oppression, with artist Colin exploring his sexuality while working on his painting "London Triptych." Rich with history and atmosphere, this novel portrays the politics and pleasures of queer life in London.