John Grindrod on Tales of the Suburbs - Glasgow Byres Road

We're delighted that John Grindod joins us to celebrate the release of his new book, Tales of the Suburbs: LGBTQ+ Lives Behind Net Curtains, in conversation with Glasgow-based artist and writer Rose Ruane.

Throughout LGBTQ+ history, suburbia has been seen as somewhere to escape from: a place where heterosexuality rules; where difference will not be tolerated; where you’ll never find a soulmate. But for many, those streets of twitching curtains and pebble-dashed semis were – or still are – a place to call home.

From Addlestone to Wilmslow, Tales of the Suburbs explores the relatively untold twentieth-century tale of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer people in suburbia. Through remarkable archive material and original interviews, social historian John Grindrod reveals stories that are messy and moving, dark and funny, uplifting and extraordinary.

John Grindrod is a social historian of modern places. He’s the author of Iconicon: A Journey Around the Landmark Buildings of Contemporary Britain (2022), Outskirts: Living Life on the Edge of the Green Belt (shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize, 2017) and Concretopia: A Journey Around the Rebuilding of Postwar Britain (2013). He hosts the podcast Monstrosities Mon Amour, about loving the places other people hate.

Please note: the Book and Ticket option includes a copy of Tales of the Suburbs (RRP £18.99) available for collection at the event.