Tales of the Suburbs - John Gringod in Conversation

About the show

We're delighted to welcome John Gringod to Real Magic for an evening of conversation.

Throughout LGBTQ+ history, suburbia has been seen as somewhere to escape from: a place where heterosexuality rules; where difference will not be tolerated; where you'll never find a soulmate. But for many, those streets of twitching curtains and pebble-dashed semis were - or still are - a place to call home.

From Addlestone to Wilmslow, Tales of the Suburbs explores the relatively untold twentieth century tale of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer people in small towns and suburbia. Through remarkable archive material and original interviews, social historian John Grindrod reveals stories that are messy and moving, dark and funny, uplifting and extraordinary. Together, they reclaim suburbia as a space for all - or those that want it - where counter-cultural expression thrives despite the Neighbourhood Watch, and queer love and friendship bloom against the odds.

'Breaks new ground' - David Kynaston

'Grindrod is one of the best chroniclers of British life' - Jude Rogers

'[A] fantastically entertaining alternative history of queer life in Britain . . . Tales of the Suburbs is ultimately about what it means to call somewhere home' - Guardian

John Grindrod is the author of 'Tales of the Suburbs: LGBTQ+ Lives Behind Net Curtains' (2026), 'Concretopia: A Journey Around the Rebuilding of Postwar Britain' (2013), 'Outskirts: Living Life on the Edge of the Green Belt' (shortlisted for the 2018 Wainwright Prize for UK travel and nature writing), and 'Iconicon: A Journey Around the Landmark Buildings of Contemporary Britain' (2022). He hosts the podcast Monstrosities Mon Amour.

Join us for a fascinating evening.