William Benemann: Men in Eden: William Drummond Stewart and Same-Sex Desire in the Rocky Mountain Fur Trade, October 1, 2012

Publisher's Description

The American West of the nineteenth century was a world of freedom and adventure for men of every stripe—not least also those who admired and desired other men.

Among these sojourners was William Drummond Stewart, a flamboyant Scottish nobleman who found in American culture of the 1830s and 1840s a cultural milieu of openness in which men could pursue same-sex relationships.

This book traces Stewart’s travels from his arrival in America in 1832 to his return to Murthly Castle in Perthshire, Scotland, with his French Canadian–Cree Indian companion, Antoine Clement, one of the most skilled hunters in the Rockies.

Benemann chronicles Stewart’s friendships with such notables as Kit Carson, William Sublette, Marcus Whitman, and Jim Bridger. He describes the wild Renaissance-costume party held by Stewart and Clement upon their return to America—a journey that ended in scandal.

Through Stewart’s letters and novels, Benemann shows that Stewart was one of many men drawn to the sexual freedom offered by the West. His book provides a tantalizing new perspective on the Rocky Mountain fur trade and the role of homosexuality in shaping the American West.

The Author

William Benemann is the author of A Year of Mud and Gold: San Francisco in Letters and Diaries, 1849–1850, available in a Bison Books edition, and Male-Male Intimacy in Early America: Beyond Romantic Friendships.

Praise

"[An] engrossing, eminently readable study of one of the most intriguing figures in the history of the Old West."—Ray Olson, Booklist starred review

“Masterfully interweaving historical facts, literary acumen, and anthropological data, Men in Eden brings to life with tantalizing colors the largely unexplored hidden lives of men living at the fringes of nineteenth century American society. This compelling book is essential reading for anyone interested in social history and biographical literature.”—Max Carocci, project curator at the British Museum and author of Warriors of the Plains: The Arts of Plains Indian Warfare

“In this highly readable book, Benemann brings the archival record to visceral life. Through his astute insights into the mindset of the era, Benemann breaths gay life into William Drummond Stewart, a larger-than-life historical figure who led a pre-medicalized, richly Whitmanesque homoerotic life. At a time when gender studies trumps, this is a very welcome and invigorating addition to the field of gay history/sexuality studies.”—Les K. Wright, author of The Bear Book and The Bear Book II

Publishing Data

Men in Eden: William Drummond Stewart and Same-Sex Desire in the Rocky Mountain Fur Trade by William Benemann

University of Nebraska Press

Paperback

October 1, 2012. 384 pp.

10 photographs, 20 illustrations

978-0-8032-3778-0

Publisher's website: http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/product/Men-in-Eden,675258.aspx