From Ulysses to Lady Chatterley’s Lover, literature in the 20th Century continued to break new ground in a way that had never been seen before. When we look back now these classics represent important milestones and their authors are considered pioneers but at the time such work provoked criticism and moral outrage from a conservative British society.

It is always interesting and worthwhile to try and learn from this legal history so that we can understand our past. In many ways our legal history is a history of our culture.

With this in mind I would recommend checking out the latest podcast from Carianne Whitworth at the National Archives that explores these issues in the context of The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall. The novel deals with lesbian themes and after it was published in July 1928 the Express newspaper started a campaign calling for its suppression. All of this public controversy led to a high-profile obscenity trial later on that year involving some of the leading literary figures of the time.

To find out what happened do listen to the podcast but also take the opportunity to think about censorship in the context of the law today. Sexuality is no longer a taboo subject but there are other areas where the piercing light of scrutiny is not allowed to shine because it would raise awkward questions. In particular this made me think about the Supreme Court case involving James Rhodes back in 2015.