CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 4/14/2025

A new edition of Tony Peake's definitive Derek Jarman biography

Allison & Busby’s 640-page, updated reissue of Little, Brown’s critically acclaimed 1999 authorized biography of artist, filmmaker and gay rights activist Derek Jarman (1942–94) could not come at a better time. As the current administration bears down against diverse belief systems, gender and sexual orientations and race-based initiatives throughout our society, Jarman’s exploration of identity and his indomitable advocacy not just for gay men, but for anyone oppressed by bigotry, remain a beacon. Written by Jarman’s longtime literary agent, Tony Peake, this tender and immaculately researched life story also features new contributions by bestselling authors Olivia Laing and Jon Savage. Pictured here—from Pansy: a true story, a screen musical recalling and examining British attitudes toward homosexuality over Jarman’s lifetime—Jarman appears with pioneering Scottish pop singer and LGBTQ+ advocate Jimmy Somerville at an OutRage! demonstration to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of Britain's 1967 Sexual Offences Act, July 25, 1992. (Photo by Bill Short.) “With the aid of a megaphone, Jarman read Sonnet 116: ‘Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediment.’ Around his neck hung a placard which made a simpler statement: ‘still waiting and f*cking furious.’”