As he lay dying in a Roman hotel room in April 1893, John Addington Symonds had good reason to be proud of his literary life. He had left behind a long and impressive list of works: translations, biographies, poetry, criticism, and a significant seven-volume history of the Renaissance in Italy. He had achieved a position of moderate fame in the world of Victorian letters. He should have rested easy.

However, in addition to being one of his era's finest historians and essayists, Symonds was homosexual and had produced several revolutionary works on the history and rights of inverts. He had also penned a candid autobiography, which, though it remained unpublished, made no bones about his temperament. Concerned that these writings would cause his family embarrassment and grief, a few hours before his death Symonds wrote a pathetic note to his wife, Catherine, assuring her that nothing would be published...