Members' Exclusive Lecture - Anthony Delaney on: Public Virtue, Private Desire: Queer Lives and Church Morality in Georgian Britain

In this members' exclusive lecture, Anthony Delaney explores how love, identity, and self-expression were negotiated in Georgian Britain within a society shaped by church authority, moral regulation, and strict social decorum; drawing on his acclaimed book Queer Georgians. 

This lecture examines the tension between public virtue and private desire in an age when faith and reputation mattered deeply. Churches were not only places of worship, but central stages for respectability, judgement, and belonging, while at the same time existing alongside hidden lives of intimacy, secrecy, and resistance. Through stories of queer Georgians drawn from aristocratic, social, and cultural worlds, Anthony reveals how sexuality, belief, and identity intersected in the very sacred spaces that still structure Britain’s historic landscape today. 

By placing queer history back into churches and ecclesiastical settings, this talk invites us to rethink Georgian religious life as complex, human, and far more emotionally diverse than tradition often allows. 

Dr Anthony Delaney is an award-winning historian, broadcaster, actor and presenter known for bringing compelling historical stories to life across page, screen, stage and audio.  

Originally from Kilkenny, Ireland, he trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and holds a PhD in 18th-century social and cultural history from the University of Exeter, where he is now an Honorary Fellow. His areas of expertise include the history of gender and sexuality, crime and punishment, the transatlantic slave trade, the history of medicine, and monarchy.  

Anthony’s accessible, narrative and engaging approach to history has earned him recognition including ‘Rookie of the Year’ at the CrimeCon True Crime Awards and nominations for ‘Best New Presenter’ and ‘Listeners’ Choice at the UK ARIA Awards and British Podcast Awards respectively.