The Sins of Jack Saul - The True Story of Dublin Jack and The Cleveland Street Scandal Paperback – 3 Mar. 2016

I read Sins Of The Cities Of The Plain a couple of years ago. First published in 1881, this frankly pornographic work purports to be the "memoirs" recounting the sexual escapades in the early life of Jack Saul, a notorious Irish rent boy who subsequently managed to get himself embroiled in two of the major sex scandals of the Victorian era. In one of these, the so-called Cleveland Street affair, Jack features brightly but briefly, but it was difficult to come by any further information about him and I often wondered what became of him. Thanks to some diligent sleuthing by Glenn Chandler, the creator and writer of Taggart, we can now follow the trajectory of Jack's life from his birth in the slums of Dublin, to his days as a hustler on the streets of London and in the city's male brothels, and then back to Dublin where he died at the relatively early age of 46. In particular, Chandler has unearthed a surprising amount of information about Jack's early life in Dublin before his London years.One thing now seems clear from the evidence presented by Chandler: Sins Of The Cities Of The Plain, allegedly penned by Jack, can no longer be deemed to be his memoirs, at least not in any reliable sense. Young Jack may have collaborated in the writing of the book and provided the anecdotes and lubricious details from his life as a male hustler but Sins is largely a work of fiction, albeit one that accurately depicts the homosexual milieu of late Victorian London. Chandler demonstrates, for example, that Jack's claim to have attended a London ball thrown by two notorious transvestites, Boulton and Park (aka Fanny and Stella), cannot be true because at the time of the ball in 1871 Jack was only fourteen years of age and still living in Dublin.Jack's early hustling years in London are depicted in Sins as a riotous helter-skelter of sex romps with champagne corks popping and large bank notes showered on him by the toffs and aristos who picked up off the streets. In reality, his life seems to have been less of a gas and ultimately less rewarding. The climax of his career, if it can be called that, came as a result of his involvement in the Cleveland Street scandal which involved telegraph messenger boys engaging in extra-curricular activities in a male brothel which counted among its customers the Earl of Euston. The Earl brought a case for criminal libel against a newspaper editor and Jack featured as the star witness for the defence. His evidence against his lordship was so shocking and so graphic as to be deemed unprintable, but the judge and jury preferred the word of a lying peer of the realm over that of a self-confessed rent boy and the editor got jailed. One may wonder about Jack's motivation given that he was in danger of incriminating himself. Was he being brave and subversive, or foolhardy, seeking his five minutes of fame like some wannabe in a modern TV reality show? Or was he badly in need of the retainer he was being paid by a detective agency acting on the editor's behalf? By the time of the trial Jack was in his early 30s, past his sell-by date and pretty much skint. With the danger of prosecution hanging over him like a Sword of Damocles he seems thereafter to have kept a low profile and eventually returned to Dublin . TB, that scourge of the 19th century, got him in the end although Chandler hints that Jack might also have suffered from syphilis or gonorrhoea which wouldn't be at all surprising as just about every man in the Victorian era appears to have had one or the other. Jack comes across as a slightly roguish but likeable character and it's nice to know that he spent his final days well-cared for in a Dublin hospice. Goodness knows what the nuns who ran the place would have thought had they known anything of Jack's life or the so-called memoirs attributed to him.So far no picture, court sketch or photograph of Jack has come to light, so it's difficult to know exactly how attractive he would be deemed by modern standards. He's reported to have been fair-skinned and auburn-haired with lively blue eyes and the author managed to find a photo of one of Jack's brothers which suggests a certain refinement in the family features. I have to say the winsome young gent who gazes at us from the cover of this book brings to mind the Artful Dodger, whereas I had always imagined Jack to possess the fair-haired and androgynous good-looks of someone like the actor Cillian Murphy.Jack would surely have been surprised, but doubtless rather pleased, to know that one day someone would write a book about him. Glenn Chandler has done a fine job in fleshing out the often obscure details of Jack's life and the book is both entertaining and informative. Highly recommended then, especially if you have an interest in gay history or the seamier side of Victorian life. And if you're simply looking for a good old porny read, there's always the Valancourt Books edition of Sins Of The Cities Of The Plain..

I confess 'The Sins of Jack Saul' isn't normally the type of book I would reach for, but I thoroughly enjoyed the narrative and the way Glenn Chandler used both a descriptive tone to set the scene as well as historical fact to tell the true story of 'Dublin Jack'. I have a slight love/fascination with the Victorian times - it always seems such a dark and almost gothic era in my mind - but in this book I saw a different side to Victorian life! It is hard to believe that over 100 years ago there was still plenty of salacious gossip and scandal happening in high society, all of which is reflected in the many well to do characters Jack Saul meets and ultimately becomes 'acquainted' with! I was gripped as it became apparent that the well known figures who used Jacks custom were to be found out and dragged through the courts for everyone to hear of their sexual desires and secret double lives! It does not surprise me that so many well connected people of the time managed to worm their way out of trouble, I just wish it could have been a happier ending for the boy from the Dublin slums, who was just trying to live his life the best he could!It was definitely an eye opener and gave pause for thought about peoples attitudes towards homosexuality and how those attitudes have changed over the years. It's hard to imagine living life in the late 1800's as a gay man, where they were treated with such disgust and contempt that a law was passed that actually made it illegal. We may have a way to go... but thank goodness for how far we have come in the last century!Jack Saul was a fascinating, colourful character who certainly led an eventful life! I thoroughly enjoyed reading about him and learning of the history of the time and I found his story to be both captivating as well as quite moving in places. It certainly made me want to wander the streets of Dublin in search of the old haunts of Jack and his friends, hidden away within the new modern day city - and maybe stop off for a pint of Guinness in Kehoe's pub along the way!

This is a detailed and intriguing study of one of the Victorian eras 'disreputable' characters, male sex worker Jack Saul. The value of this book lies in the fact that it is a thorough biography of one of the period's little known characters. It details his life and, more significantly, the criminal trials and unsavoury (for the time) characters he was involved with. The trials, one in Dublin the other in London, were scandalous events in that they brought the issue of homosexuality among society's 'upper classes' to the fore. In detailing these events, the author highlights the hypocrisy of the era when the rich and well-connected could flout the existing anti-sodomy laws. Saul, on the other hand, was from a poor working class Dublin family who was street wise and lucky to survive given the life he led. He learnt to survive on his wits while making a comfortable living by selling the only commodity he had: his attractive body. Not only does the book cover his life and escapades; it also details the characters - police and detectives involved in the notorious trials, specifically the Clevedean Street trial which centred around a male brothel in a fashionable London suburb. Unfortunately, Saul died relatively young and must have lived in rather poor circumstances towards the end of his life. Although the book is well illustrated, there seem to be no surviving photographs of Jack; perhaps a sign of his poverty. This biography is full of scandal and salacious facts which are all based on fact not fiction. A remarkable study of the period's lesser known but fascinating individuals. One can't help admiring this 'survivor' of the streets and regretting that he did not live in a more socially progressive age.