STELLA AND FANNY

STELLA AND FANNY

Ernest Boulton and Frederick W. Park

Stella and Fanny were two Victorian cross-dressers and suspected homosexuals. In 1870, while in drag, they were arrested after leaving a London theatre. They were charged with conspiracy to commit sodomy, a crime that carried a maximum prison sentence of life with hard labor. Their case came to court the following year when they were acquitted after the prosecution failed to establish that they had anal sex. The pair admitted to appearing in public dressed as women, which was "an offence against public morals and common decency".

The case was reported in all the major newspapers, much of it in lurid terms. Several penny pamphlets were published focusing on the sensational aspect of the case. The events surrounding Boulton and Park make one of the key events in gay history.