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At The Cross (1961) - Frenuyum - 12-05-2025
Jon, who is 16, but looks 14, has hitch-hiked to Sydney from Victoria. He is a young innocent abroad. The supposedly heterosexual couple who pick him up both try to seduce him and when he rejects their overtures he finds himself with no place to stay. Then he rooms with Cliff and Dennis, later finds other accommodation at the Cross (King's Cross), and eventually settles in with a middle-aged woman of dubious reputation. His various experiences are recounted with a dash of self-deprecation. He mixes in a very camp milieu, but Jon is never fully “out.” Yet even though Jon’s sexuality in At the Cross is equivocal, at the same time it is coy, perhaps too much so, a camp “in-joke.”
The novel reaches its dramatic zenith with the Gala Drag and Drain Party which is attended by a vast range of camp people dressed as characters such as Carmen Miranda, Peter Pan and Greek soldiers. It is a riot, in more ways than one, with a police raid and later court appearances.
The book may indeed be more memoir than novel, and therefore what is omitted is quite crucial for what these days might be expected to be revealed in a life story, but in 1961 homosexuality was still illegal in Australia, and discretion was imperative. However, in 1961 even what is not omitted was found morally repugnant to some.
Quote: In this book Jon Rose bares his soul in a way that makes the reader almost ashamed to go on turning the pages. It becomes patently obvious that Rose and his associates were only fooling themselves that they were really living. Their contempt for decency and self-respect becomes pathetic. This is not a ruthless self-examination; it is petty exhibitionism. If, however, one is prepared to do a little literary slumming, the book is good entertainment (R.R. 1961).
Quote: Very rare book, "At The Cross (1961)" has been scanned and converted to retail quality ebook using ABBYYFineReader and Sigil.