Happy Pride Month, readers! June is a time to celebrate the diversity of our queer community around the world — and to acknowledge and uplift the queer people who have always been here throughout history, even if they kept their identities under the radar. Today, Jake Hall has a fascinating new Hidden History story that does just that. A special thank you to our paid subscribers who help us report and publish untold stories like this one. Happy reading! 🌈
It was late on a frosty Sunday night, and yet the hazy glow of lamplight still illuminated Mother Clap’s molly house, the gleeful squeals of patrons bleeding through the walls. Inside, the atmosphere was so raucous that nobody heard the clattering hooves of police horses on the cobblestones. Constables surrounded the building, blocking off all potential escape routes. Alternating turns, they stormed inside and searched the dozens of bedrooms, rifling for any trace of vice…
