Secret Historian
The Life and Times of Samuel Steward, Professor, Tattoo Artist, and Sexual Renegade
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Narrated by:
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Sean Runnette
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By:
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Justin Spring
About this listen
Drawn from the secret, never-before-seen diaries, journals, and sexual records of the novelist, poet, and university professor Samuel M. Steward, Secret Historian is a sensational reconstruction of one of the more extraordinary hidden lives of the 20th century. An intimate friend of Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, and Thornton Wilder, Steward maintained a secret sex life from childhood on and documented these experiences in brilliantly vivid and often very funny detail.
After leaving the world of academe to become Phil Sparrow, a tattoo artist on Chicago’s notorious South State Street, Steward worked closely with Alfred Kinsey on his landmark sex research. During the early 1960s, Steward changed his name and identity once again, this time to write exceptionally literate, upbeat, pro-homosexual pornography under the name of Phil Andros.
Until today he has been known only as Phil Sparrow, but an extraordinary archive of his papers, lost since his death in 1993, has provided the material for an exceptionally compassionate and brilliantly illuminating life-and-times biography. More than merely the story of one remarkable man, Secret Historian is a moving portrait of homosexual life long before Stonewall and gay liberation.
Justin Spring is a writer specializing in 20th-century American art and culture and is the author of many monographs, catalogs, museum publications, and books, including Fairfield Porter: A Life in Art and Paul Cadmus: The Male Nude.
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Hugh Ryan's When Brooklyn Was Queer is a groundbreaking exploration of the LGBT history of Brooklyn, from the early days of Walt Whitman in the 1850s up through the queer women who worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard during World War II, and beyond. In intimate, evocative, moving prose, Ryan brings this never-before-told story of Brooklyn's vibrant and forgotten queer history to life.
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A Love Letter
- By Jeffrey on 06-26-19
By: Hugh Ryan
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Georgette Heyer
- Biography of a Bestseller
- By: Jennifer Kloester
- Narrated by: Phyllida Nash
- Length: 14 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Georgette Heyer remains an enduring international best seller, read and loved by four generations of readers and extolled by today's best-selling authors. Despite her enormous popularity, she never gave an interview or appeared in public. Georgette Heyer wrote her first novel, The Black Moth, when she was 17 in order to amuse her convalescent brother. It was published in 1921 to instant success, and 90 years later it has never been out of print.
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Heyer as a person
- By Jerri C on 06-15-15
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Gabriel Garcia Marquez: A Life
- By: Gerald Martin
- Narrated by: Sean Crisden
- Length: 22 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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In his novels and short stories, Gabriel García Márquez has transformed the particulars of his own life and the lives of his fellow Colombians into wondrous fiction. While telling the story of the sloppily dressed, skinny young man who rose from obscurity as a provincial journalist to international fame as the progenitor of a new literature, Gerald Martin also considers the tensions in García Márquez's life between celebrity and the personal quest for literary quality, between politics and writing, and between the seductions of power, solitude, and love.
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Great content, somewhat disappointing narrator.
- By Paola Herrington on 01-08-13
By: Gerald Martin
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Zelda Fitzgerald
- The Tragic, Meticulously Researched Biography of the Jazz Age's High Priestess
- By: Sally Cline
- Narrated by: Coleen Marlo
- Length: 17 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Zelda Fitzgerald was the mythical American Dream Girl of the Roaring Twenties who became, in the words of her husband, F. Scott Fitzgerald, "the first American flapper." Their romance transformed a symbol of glamour and spectacle of the Jazz Age. When Zelda cracked up, not long after the stock market crash of 1929, Scott remained loyal to her through a nightmare of later breakdowns and final madness.
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The Beautiful and the Bungled
- By Silverthorne on 12-08-17
By: Sally Cline
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Reading My Father
- A Memoir
- By: Alexandra Styron
- Narrated by: Alexandra Styron
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Alexandra Styron's parents—the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Sophie’s Choice and his political activist wife, Rose—were, for half a century, leading players on the world’s cultural stage. Alexandra was raised under both the halo of her father’s brilliance and the long shadow of his troubled mind. Reading My Father portrays the epic sweep of an American artist’s life. It is also a tale of filial love, beautifully written with humor, compassion, and grace.
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William Styron Ranks...
- By Douglas on 12-22-13
By: Alexandra Styron
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The Last Love Song
- A Biography of Joan Didion
- By: Tracy Daugherty
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 26 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Joan Didion lived a life in the public and private eye with her late husband, writer John Gregory Dunne, whom she met while the two were working in New York City, when Didion was at Vogue and Dunne was writing for Time. They became wildly successful writing partners when they moved to Los Angeles and cowrote screenplays and adaptations together. Didion is well known for her literary journalistic style in both fiction and nonfiction.
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Riveted for 1591 miles
- By Kaysi12 on 04-11-16
By: Tracy Daugherty
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Process
- The Writing Lives of Great Authors
- By: Sarah Stodola
- Narrated by: Andi Arndt
- Length: 7 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Ernest Hemingway, Zadie Smith, Joan Didion, Franz Kafka, David Foster Wallace, and more. In Process, acclaimed journalist Sarah Stodola examines the creative methods of literature's most transformative figures. Each chapter contains a mini biography of one of the world's most lauded authors, focused solely on his or her writing process.
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Excellent!
- By Davina Rush on 04-10-15
By: Sarah Stodola
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So We Read On
- How the Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Endures
- By: Maureen Corrigan
- Narrated by: Maureen Corrigan
- Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Conceived nearly a century ago by a man who died believing himself a failure, it's now a revered classic and a rite of passage in the reading lives of millions. But how well do we really know The Great Gatsby? As Maureen Corrigan, Gatsby lover extraordinaire, points out, while Fitzgerald's masterpiece may be one of the most popular novels in America, many of us first read it when we were too young to fully comprehend its power.
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Reading Gatsby as an adult reveals its greatness!
- By Mark on 10-06-14
By: Maureen Corrigan
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Salinger
- By: David Shields, Shane Salerno
- Narrated by: Peter Friedman, January LaVoy, Robert Petkoff, and others
- Length: 19 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Shields and Salerno illuminate most brightly the last 56 years of Salinger’s life: a period that, until now, had remained completely dark to biographers. Provided unprecedented access to diaries, letters, legal records, and secret documents, listeners will feel they have, for the first time, gotten beyond Salinger’s meticulously built-up wall. The result is the definitive portrait of one of the most fascinating figures of the 20th century.
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Ingenious novel or biography? Hard to tell....
- By Melinda on 09-05-13
By: David Shields, and others
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Outlaw Marriages
- The Hidden Histories of Fifteen Extraordinary Same-Sex Couples
- By: Rodger Streitmatter
- Narrated by: Christopher Hurt
- Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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For more than a century before gay marriage became a hot-button political issue, same-sex unions flourished in America. Pairs of men and pairs of women joined together in committed unions, standing by each other "for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health" for periods of 30 or 40 - sometimes as many as 50 - years. In short, they loved and supported each other every bit as much as any husband and wife. In Outlaw Marriages, cultural historian Rodger Streitmatter reveals how some of these unions didn’t merely improve the quality of life for the two people involved but also enriched the American culture.
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Sames Sex Couples Through History
- By Susie on 12-11-12
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Rebel Souls
- Walt Whitman and America's First Bohemians
- By: Justin Martin
- Narrated by: Dennis Holland
- Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Rebel Souls is the first book ever written about the colorful group of artists - regulars at Pfaff's Saloon in Manhattan - rightly considered America's original Bohemians. Besides a young Whitman, the circle included actor Edwin Booth; trailblazing stand–up comic Artemus Ward; psychedelic drug pioneer and author Fitz Hugh Ludlow; and brazen performer Adah Menken, famous for her Naked Lady routine. Central to their times, the artists managed to forge connections with Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mark Twain, and even Abraham Lincoln.
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A Wonderful Read with Vibrant Characters
- By A on 11-11-15
By: Justin Martin
What listeners say about Secret Historian
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- David P
- 02-24-21
Riveting
This biography is fascinating, insightful, sad, and important. Spring is really writing about the history of gay men across the 20th Century, using Steward's rich and troubled (alcoholism, addiction, financial woes) and meticulously documented life as the vehicle. I often sat in my car, delaying going into my apartment, just so I could listen to more. The reader is excellent.
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- Philz
- 08-25-16
Superb biography
Very thorough telling of the life and works of a most important 20th century gay man. Appreciated learning about this man.
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- Thomas
- 06-11-18
Thought Provoking and a Touch Depressing
I bought this book to get a feeling of gay life before Stonewall and it delivered. Following Sam Steward through his life was enlightening, thought provoking, and depressing. The book focused on his sexual appetites and I wish there was more about his daily life and friendships; however, the author worked with what he had.
Definitely an excellent read and I feel more rounded by having been exposed to each step of his struggle during very difficult times.
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- vincent
- 11-18-13
Very Revealing and Secretive Indeed
What made the experience of listening to Secret Historian the most enjoyable?
First and foremost, its content, which has been very under-chronicled. Secondly, the narrator, who has has a very clear voice, and speaks at a good speed. He sounds educated and a bit literary. All good points.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Samuel himself for being such a magical child and adult. The big cheese in the Chicago homo wrestling scene (I forget his name now), Alice B Tolkas and more.
Have you listened to any of Sean Runnette’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
Sorry to say that I haven't
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Absolutely !!!!
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2 people found this helpful
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- Lombroso
- 08-12-21
Fabulous Contribution
Spring’s account of Steward’s life is an exceedingly well documented and comprehensive examination of a complex literary and cultural figure. I can give no higher recommendation for any work.
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- Micah D
- 12-23-20
"Healing Power of Truth"
Justin Spring sorts a lifetime of data and tells a compelling story. Neither prurient nor prudish, the book takes seriously its subject, and I imagine that Steward himself would surely love the result. I urge readers/listeners to consider also engaging with Polchin's INDECENT ADVANCES and Gevisser's PINK LINE; together, the three well-written books catalyze deep understanding of the queer experience in the 20th and early 21st centuries. Runnette's performance is quite good but, to my ear, oddly slow paced. Within the Audible app, I sped the recording 20% to achieve a narration rate that pleased me.
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- Rob Abbot
- 09-12-24
Masterful Re-claiming of a remarkable figure in gay history
I did not know about Samuel Steward and now feel that the efforts he made to cover such a large swath of gay literary and sexual life in the 20th century has been renewed and redeemed in Justin Spring’s research, analysis and writing.
Highly recommend!
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- Michael
- 09-18-22
Stud file
Steward was a complicated character and the book doesn't shy away from all his contradictions. On the one hand you could say he broke through a lot of barriers and let his freak flag fly during an era when doing so could put you in all kinds of danger. But there was also a lot about him that I found somewhat distasteful and even disturbing--his fascination with violence and debasement, the way he fetishized men of color, his involvement with young men who were borderline minors (including some of his students), and just the whole unrelenting obsession with sex throughout his entire life. But I stuck with it, mainly because the author handled it in just the right way. He shows an appreciation for Steward's accomplishments and talents as a writer and artist, not to mention the guts it took for him to live such an unconventional life, but he also acknowledges the darkness at the heart of the story. So that carried me through and in the end I thought it was a very insightful biography of a person I had never even heard of before buying the book. And oh, the narrator is perfect.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Jeffrey
- 12-17-14
Stark, Revealing, Honest, Sad
Just a few of the words I would use to describe the life of Samuel Steward, the object of Justin Spring's amazing work, Secret Historian. Just as some today use blogs and emails to nowadays reveal, communicate, inform and archive, folk used to write letters on real paper with real ink. It's a breeze to collect data now compared to then. Mr. Spring's extensive research, compilation and final literary revelation of Mr. Steward's obsessive life and writings is a thing of beauty unto itself. No matter what else you think of Mr. Steward's life, it was his and his alone and one gawks at the man's dedication to be and do what he was and what he did. Incredible and yes, inspiring on all fronts. Mr. Runnette's narration was perfect, unerring and smooth as glass, a pleasure to listen to.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Justin Lynes
- 02-26-18
Important part of American history
I have just finished this extraordinary work and want to immediately start again. I was constantly pausing to google and make note of other works of literature and film that I needed to consume. This man was truly a renaissance man of our times and while literally a star-f*cker those connections ended up making him like a Forrest Gump of the Western cultural avant-garde.
I have one caution: Steward was fluent in French and several passages are spoken beautifully by the narrator but do not include a translation. Indeed as he was a very educated scholar, there are also Latin and Greek quotes and phrases used (and not just ones typically peppered in English narrative) where no translation is supplied and I just had to assume were profound.
I am definitely buying the print version, but this is great in audio version as well as I exclaimed and laughed repeatedly as the story unfolded.
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