It’s always a pleasure to excavate earlier decades of LGBT history, and this delightful discovery from the gay literary past is no exception.

I first discovered Victor Baris’ The Man from CAMP in Susan Stryker (no relation to either Jeff- I think…), in which she gave the pseudonymous “Don Holliday” rather short shrift. What Stryker didn’t tell us was that Baris had actually written nine of The Man from CAMP series, indicating that it must have sold well, and probably cashed in on the contemporary craze for James Bond movies and the hit sixties US television series, The Man from UNCLE.

Like UNCLE and MI5 in the inspiration for this gay spy parody series, CAMP had its own fiendish enemy- BUTCH (Brothers United to Crush Homosexuality). Although best-sellers in their time, the series constituent volumes are now hard to find because of their cheap production material, and the criminal status of male homosexuality, which could mean imprisonment, psychiatric abuse, unemployment or homelessness if one was found with one of the offending volumes. Remember, this was just before Stonewall, in 1969.

Jackie Holmes is the queen of the CAMP roost- slight, blond, susceptible to drag, high tech and independently wealthy, he also comes equipped with Sophie, his adorable but razor-toothed pet poodle, and Aunt Agatha. Lou Upton is his INTERPOL contact and sometime romance, and Rich is the indispensable office administrator, akin to Torchwood’s Ianto Jones or Bond’s Miss Moneypenny.

Lesbian and gay criminals, closeted rock stars, sprightly intelligent aunties, blond twink kidnapping rings, rich handsome beaux, midget gangs, dog theft, ancient Atlantis, Cold War tensions, bullfighting and gay sex sashay their way through the series. Happily, shortly after Stryker wrote about them, they were republished.

Recommended:

Fabio Cleto (ed) That Man from CAMP: Rebel Without a Pause: Binghamton: Harrington Park: 2004.

Victor Baris (ed) Tales from CAMP: Jackie’s Back: San Francisco: GLB Books: 2005.

http://www.victorjbaris.com