Between Men: English Literature and Male Homosocial Desire (Gender and Culture Series)
by Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick
Queer Places:
King Edward's School, Edgbaston Park Rd, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2UA, United Kingdom
University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3PA
William Fulford (September 5, 1831 – 1882) was an English poet, clergyman, and editor who served as a prominent central figure within the Pre-Raphaelite literary circle.
Fulford attended King Edward's School in Birmingham, where he formed close bonds within an exceptionally talented student cohort. Among his peers were future cultural luminaries such as: Edward Burne-Jones, Cormell Price, and Richard Watson Dixon.
He subsequently matriculated at Pembroke College, Oxford, where he reconnected with his former schoolmates. At Oxford, Fulford helped establish and lead the undergraduate group known as the "Birmingham Set" (or the "Brotherhood") alongside Edward Burne-Jones, William Morris, Cormell Price, Charles Faulkner, and Richard Watson Dixon.
Fulford functioned as a primary literary influence and driving force within the group. He frequently engaged in enthusiastic poetry readings with Morris and Burne-Jones and took on the key responsibility of editing their shared monthly publication, The Oxford and Cambridge Magazine (1856).
Like many of his peers from King Edward's School who transitioned to Oxford, Fulford’s early adult life was anchored in the intense, all-male environment of artistic and literary "Brotherhoods".
Within late-Victorian cultural studies and queer history, these networks represent a foundational model of homosocial bonding. The Brotherhood provided a supportive ecosystem defined by: Deep emotional closeness and romanticism. Shared living spaces and collaborative creative expression. Passionate, lifelong intellectual and artistic partnerships.
This framework allowed intense male affection and creative intimacy to thrive, shaping the social and literary landscapes of the Pre-Raphaelite movement.
After his time at Oxford, Fulford moved to London in the mid-1850s to edit The Oxford and Cambridge Magazine (1856) and participate in the broader Pre-Raphaelite literary scene. He shared quarters in London with fellow Brotherhood member Cormell Price for a period.
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Between Men: English Literature and Male Homosocial Desire (Gender and Culture Series) by Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick |
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