andhis social position is insecure.LikeHeriot, he inheritsa for-
tune but, unlike Heriot, Bristow also inherits a title (perhaps
somethingHeriot felt the lack of?).Whatmakes
TheOrphan’s
Progress
important—almost unique in the anxiety-fueled gay
fictionof the 1950s—is that it’s a novelwith a clear gay theme
written under the author’s own name and not under a pseudo-
nym. (RodneyGarland’s1953best-selling
TheHeart inExile
is
a conspicuous case in point. The author was in fact Adamde
Hegedus.)
The hero’s gay journey beginswith the obligatory cruising
scene at PiccadillyCircus—Nicholas doesn’t take up the offer
and, puzzled about his sexuality, he goes with a cheerful (fe-
male) tart instead, thenwith several less cheerful tarts, until he
begins to feel that sexwithwomen is rather a chore.Hemoves
into a gay lodging house run by his splendidAunt Sylvia and,
thoroughlyenjoying thegossipand innuendo, hebegins to feel
that “he has at last the key to a certain code.”
At one of Sylvia’s lovely parties, an attractive thirty-some-
thingmankisses him, andhediscovers (“after amoment of re-
vulsion”) that foolingaroundwithmen is quitegood fun.After
muchheart-searching—and lotsmoreparties—he is introduced
to the handsomeErnestAllsop,who invites himout for dinner.
They begin an affair, but the sex doesn’t go well: Nicholas is
emotionallydrawn tomenbut can’t stopsleepingwithwomen.
Then it all goes right andwrong simultaneously: Nicholas in-
herits apeerageanda fortune, but hisprivate lifecollapses into
a kind of breakdown: “hewas like amirrorwith nothing to re-
flect.”Ernest sensibly dumpsNicholas for a nice gay boywho
knows what he likes, and Nicholas is devastated. In the end,
Nicholasprettymuchgivesupsexof all kinds andwritesbooks
instead.
To today’s readers, thenovel offersanappealinglyretrocold
bath of misery and quaint period charm—doesn’t “queen’s
moll” sound nicer than fag hag?—but
Orphan’s Progress
is an
important book.That’sbecause, in its strange, constipatedway,
it makes a powerful case. In the character of Nicholas, Heriot
shows what happens to gaymen who, in the language of the
1950s, don’t have “integrated personalities.” In Ernest, he
showshownicely things canworkout if youdo—providedyou
get the closet cases out of our life.
Heriot himselfwasnever acloset case.He livedopenlywith
his partner, Neil Macmillan, throughout the 1950s, eventually
moving fromLondon to Paris in 1956 (although they kept a
London address until 1959). Emigration was a smart move,
given the anti-gay police activity and prosecutions in London
presided over by Home Secretary David Maxwell-Fyfe and
Metropolitanpolice commissioner JohnNott-Bower.Historian
Matt Houlbrook has documented the extent of the persecution
and shown that gay life carried on regardless; but the oldwar-
time mood of tolerance was finished. Kensington and other
WestLondonneighborhoods thatHeriot knewwell hadalready
become toohot for comfort, thanks to the commissioner’s vig-
orous campaign to remove gay people from public spaces.
Heriot leftEngland, declaringwithahighcamp flourish that he
wouldn’t miss much because most Englishmen looked like
ducks.
Heriot’s next three novels are best ignored: in
Zenobia
(1958),
Penelope’s Web
(1961), and
Four-Part Fugue
(1962),
he’s confusedabout his themes and techniques andoften totally
May–June 2014
27
LITTLEREEFANDOTHER
STORIES
MichaelCarroll
“Thesestories,keenly—evencruelly—observant,occupythe
vergesofloveanddeathwherethetruestandmostrecklessly
awareemotionsabide.Romanticyetbitterlyinsightful,thisis
asolid,smartcollection.”
—JOYWILLIAMS
, authorof
HonoredGuest
$26.95 $19.95
INANEWCENTURY
JohnD’Emilio
“‘JohnD’Emiliohasdoneitagain.Thesecaptivatingessays
byoneofourmostillustrioushistoriansandscholar-activists
connectpasttopresentinawaythathelpsustothinkabout
andworktowardamorejustfuture.”
—LEILAJ.RUPP
,author
of
Sapphistries:AGlobalHistoryofLovebetweenWomen
$27.95 $22.95
THECITYOFPALACES
MichaelNava
“Anextraordinaryportraitofoneofthemostcriticalperiods
inMexico’shistory.Navabreatheslifeintothestoriesof
political,cultural,andsocialrevolutionariesastheynavigate
changeintheircountryandwithinthemselves.Thisisa
breakthroughnovel.”
—RIGOBERTOGONZÁLEZ
,authorof
AutobiographyofMy
Hungers
$26.95 $16.95
THEBLINDMASSEUSE
AldenJones
“AldenJones’srefreshinghumor,youngperspective,and
informedculturalawarenessmake
TheBlindMasseuse
standoutfromothertravelmemoirs.Thisisasmartand
entertainingread.”
—LUCYBLEDSOE
,authorof
TheBigBangSymphony
$24.95 $12.95
LAWFULLYWEDDED
HUSBAND
JoelDerfner
“Movingseamlesslyfromthepersonaltothehistoricaltothe
political,JoelDerfnermeditateswithwit,insight,andeven-
handednessontherealitiesofmarriage—hisandeveryone’s.
Hisstoryisnotonlydeftlyplacedinthecontextofthe
broaderfightformarriageequality,butisalsoapowerfultool
inthatfight.Mainlybecauseit’ssofunny.”
—DAVIDJAVERBAUM
,formerheadwriterfor
TheDailyShow
$26.95 $19.95
NEW.NOW.
ueeQ
f
yso
i yLtinmumo
s,andC ictlio y,Protis rH
Essa
e
n
oAN lve
amC
raAT
ia bod
o icat
aRtsomCo oirfrme sMr’elve
lliW
yliam ricanF emeAhvet aS
eg arria
yMayG owMH
