You discover you have a half-brother. You resent him for being stronger and healthier, and are disgusted when he sings a dirty song with a soldier.

You think you have had a revelation. In reality, you have gotten yourself in a muddle, and later it makes you miserable.

If you ever take to living as you play piano, it will be very exciting indeed.

Matthew Houlbrook's 2005 book Queer London opens with a romantic letter from one man to another. It's a good introduction, it's a very helpful description of queer 1930s culture, but what struck me, more than the story, was the citation.