Hurst has scooped Unsuitable, a history of lesbian fashion from historian and author of the online blog “Dressing Dykes” Eleanor Medhurst.
Senior editor Lara Weisweiller-Wu acquired world English rights from Gyamfia Osei formerly at The Good Literary Agency. The book will be published in June 2024 in hardback.
Unsuitable “restores to style history and queer history the fascinating, ever-changing tale of modern lesbian dress”. It covers different countries and time periods from “Gentleman Jack” in 19th-century Yorkshire, Queen Christina of 17th-century Sweden, to Paris modernism, the Suffragettes and the Harlem Renaissance.
Medhurst commented: “I’m so excited for Unsuitable to be published by Hurst next summer. Fashion is such an interesting and personal lens to view history with, and to help us discover all the vibrant possibilities of lesbian lives in the past – especially when queer women’s stories have so often been erased or kept hidden. It’s time to open up the closet and bring its contents to life.”
Weisweiller-Wu said: “For years, Eleanor has been bringing the lost stories of lesbian, trans and queer fashion to her online fans, and she is the perfect guide in this book’s deeper dive. I have been blown away by her smart, sensitive voice, her keen eye for the cultures and societies behind every outfit, and her infectious passion for the triumphs and tragedies of the long lesbian past. As she says in the book, ’We were always here!’”
