The Naked Civil Servant (Book)

"As soon as I stepped out of my mother's womb... I realized that I had made a mistake", Quentin Crisp declares, giving a small hint of the witty and wry approach he takes toward the life he describes with uninhibited exuberance in this classic autobiography, which is both a comic masterpiece and a unique testament to the resilience of the human spirit. Crisp not only came out as a gay man in 1931, when the slightest sign of homosexuality shocked public sensibilities, but he did so with grand and provocative flamboyance, determined to spread the message that homosexuality did not exclude him or anyone else from the human race. His hilarious descriptions of his encounters with parents, friends, employers, soldiers and sailors, and the law reveal the strength and humor of an honest man, determined to face the world with the uncensored, unapologetic truth about himself. This is the book which was made into the film The Naked Civil Servant, starring John Hurt. Also check out the dvd of An Englishman in New York, again starring John Hurt, but now 34 years on, as Quentin Crisp in the latter part of his life.  

Paperback, 212 Pages, Orig. Publ. 1968, this Ed. Publ. 1997