The Betrayal of Thomas True by AJ West

I read a review of The Betrayal of Thomas True by AJ West when it was published in hardback in 2024 and made a note to myself to get a copy when it came out in paperback.

Set in 1715, it is the story of a group of gay men (know as mollies). Thomas True, a rector’s son, has never had a friend and has been bullied all his life. So he runs away from home and flees to London. There, he meets Jack, a fellow molly, who introduces him to Mother Clap’s Molly House.

At Mother Clap’s, mollies are free to be themselves. They dress as women, adopt women’s names and dance. Thomas finds himself at home.

But all is not well. Being gay is illegal and mollies are being murdered and shopped to the authorities to be hanged. Thomas’s friends know there is a rat among them giving their names to the justices, but who? As the newcomer, they all suspect Thomas.

Gabriel Griffin is the ‘molly guard’ who looks after the mollies at Mother Clap’s. A giant of a man, he tries to keep the mollies safe. He has never seen a man so beautiful as Thomas and can’t believe he could be the rat.

Thomas and Gabriel fall in love, but can their love survive?

The Betrayal of Thomas True is a beautifully written book with a beautiful cover, which reminded me a lot of a Laura Shepherd Robinson novel (definitely a good thing). I found it interesting to read about the lives of gay men in history, something I’ve never read about before. This isn’t a book for the faint hearted! The treatment of the mollies is shocking and the murders and hangings are gruesome.

But if you’re interested in history and the lives of LGBTQ+ people long before the 21st century and you don’t mind reading about murders, The Betrayal of Thomas True is a brilliant read.