An open secret : the family story of Robert & John Gregg Allerton / Nicholas L. Syrett.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Syrett, Nicholas L., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Gay men--Illinois--Biography.

Gay men.

Philanthropists--Illinois--Biography.

Philanthropists.

Gay couples--Illinois.

Gay couples.

Gay adoption--Illinois.

Gay adoption.

Allerton, Robert, 1873-1964.

Allerton, Robert.

Allerton, John Gregg, 1899-1986.

Allerton, John Gregg.

Illinois.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

210 pages : illustrations, map ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Chicago : The University of Chicago Press, 2021.

Summary:

"An Open Secret traces the history of philanthropist Robert Allerton and his companion, John Wyatt Gregg, whom Allerton formally adopted as his son in 1960, after decades of living together. Yet why did these two men, who appear to be a gay couple from our view today, choose to project a father/son relationship? Syrett argues that in a period of both rising homosexual openness and social disapproval, the men had to find an alternative public logic for their situation. Whether or not Allerton and Gregg had sex with each other, they were undoubtedly a queer union: two high-society men who did not affirm traditional notions of partnership or couplehood"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Allerton roots

Robert Allerton's queer aesthetic

Travel and itinerant homosexuality

Becoming father and son

Lord of a Hawaiian island

Queer domesticity in Illinois and Hawai'i

Legally father and son

Conclusion: John Wyatt Gregg Allerton.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

ebook version :

ISBN:

9780226638744

022663874X

9780226761558

022676155X

OCLC:

1184123714

Publisher Number:

99987450381