Foundlings

“[P]assionate, precise, and creative readings. . . .” - Clare Connors , English

“Nealon offers a paradigm shift for gay studies, one that bridges the divide in perception of pre- and post-Stonewall cultures. . . . [He] provides a model for scholarly argumentation, deftly identifying the crucial points in earlier theories to mark the displacements from those points that define his own positions. . . . Highly recommended. . . .” - J. J. Marchesani, Choice

"[A] host of stimulating ideas. . . . [T]he provocative beginnings and equivocal conclusions that Foundlings reaches shows the urgent need for much more cross-fertilization between gay history and queer studies." - Lenard Berlanstein , Lambda Book Report

"Each chapter is glowing, precise, and detailed, illuminating how the texts in question imagine gayness not as solitary inversion but as a secret temporal relationship to others. The individual readings are rich, for they focus especially on how an author, or in some cases, artifact, reads its own relationship to history and how forms can be used to express and transform a sense of history neither pathological and individual nor celebratory and communal. Nealon’s readings should prove critical to LGBT historians and queer theorists alike. . . ." - Stephanie Foote , American Literature

"It is usual to take cover blurbs with a grain of salt, but I find myself persuaded by Judith Butler’s opinion that Christopher Nealon has produced ‘a first-rate, innovative, and unprecedented work’ in Foundlings. . . . In short, the most exciting aspect of Nealon’s work is the way his readings will provide a model for understanding numerous other possible ‘closets’ which have hidden same-sex affection in history. His analyses should provide the inspiration for a new way of examining history. . . . [S]uperb. . . . [W]e’ll be taking our muscle mags and pulp fiction seriously from now on.” - William Pencak , CLGH Newsletter

"Nealon [has] a passion and poetic insight that take one by delighted surprise. . . . [A] powerful account. . . . [E]ssential reading for scholars of sexual representation and the history of emotion." - Christopher Castiglia , Journal of American History

“Foundlings is a first-rate, innovative, and unprecedented work that will take the literary world by storm. Christopher Nealon proves himself here to be the very best of a new generation of queer theorists.” - Judith Butler

“Foundlings provides a new paradigm for thinking historically and theoretically about the longing for history within gay and lesbian texts. This is not just a stunning addition to queer historiography but also a challenge to the historicist turn in literary and cultural criticism.” - Bill Brown, author of The Material Unconscious: American Amusement, Stephen Crane, and the Economies of Play