This is an absolutely gorgeous memoir.

As someone from Nothern Ireland in her early thirties, I was not aware of David Hodge before reading this book but reading about his life was fascinating. I am maybe a little too young and a bit far from the London scene!

David, as a schoolboy, discovered at a young age that he enjoyed fashion and make up but whilst not relating this to sexuality, he was teased a little at school. This book follows his journey to becoming drag queen Miss Dusty O, the Queen of Soho, rubbing shoulders with celebrities, becoming friends with Boy George, the HIV/AIDS crisis in the 80s right up to getting rid of Miss Dusty O for good and finding his happiness now.

What I always want from a memoir is to feel the emotions and to experience the authors self reflection. I felt both of these things as well and sheer entertainment. Some parts were tough to read such as his relationship with his mother when he was younger and the death of his friend Dids.

David Hodge seems like such a wonderful person and I highly recommend giving this memoir a read.

Source of book: NetGalley (thank you)
Relevant disclaimers: None
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.


This is a really entrancing piece of autobiographical writing from David Hodge (formerly, the Very Miss Dusty O, the drag ‘Queen of Soho’ who held sway over the club scene for several decades). It takes us from his lonely childhood as a ginger queer kid through rise and decline of Soho itself and finally to Hodge’s decision to separate himself from the persona that had brought him so much fame and success it had almost taken on a life of its own.

The tone is exactly what you’d hope for this kind of autobiography: confiding, gossipy, a little bitchy, but sincere when it needed to be. It’s a fascinating look at what feels like a piece of lost time, especially because so many of its brightest stars burned themselves out quite tragically. But for all the glitter and glitz, and celebrity name drops, there’s still something grounded here. It’s a bit of a cliché, I suppose, to juxtapose success and celebration with insecurity and loneliness but, while Hodge writes with candour about people and events who hurt him (for example, the teacher in his youth who condemned to sit by the window in class, or the neighbour who attacked him in his own house), he manages to do so—for the most part—with humility and a lack of self-pity. It also helps, I think, that the experiences Hodge writes about are not *just* glitz and glamour: he mentions calling the London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard as a confused teenager, for a while he worked at The Lighthouse and, even though doesn’t mine the AIDS crisis for tragedy, the losses he suffered in it echo gently through the text as a whole.

As is probably inevitable, Hodge’s most nuanced character portraits are reserved for those closest to him. His relationship with his mother is particularly fascinating, as it evolves from mistrust and rejection (on her part) to something genuinely supportive despite the almost irreconcilable incompatibility of their worlds. Less successful, perhaps also inevitably, are the sections acknowledging Hodge’s friendship with Boy George—reading between the lines, it’s clear that these are two very complex men whose relationship is, likewise, complex, but mostly Hodge seems to want to elide that. I mean, I can see why, if Boy George was my complex friend, I wouldn’t want to piss him off either, and gossiping about him in your autobiography would be pretty fucking unclassy. The effect of this understandable tact is slightly emotionally flattening, however.

There are a couple of odd notes here and there—a random grumble about “wokeism” that felt decontextualised and unnecessary … complains Alexis Hall, wokely. Seriously, though, “wokeism” is something invented by the right to paint people asking for nothing more than the same rights as everyone else as reactionary and irrational. And, yes, there’s assuredly discourse to be had about how the language of social justice is often used as a mechanism of social control targeted *at* marginalised people (often by people marginalised along different axes) but … I kind of think comes after we deal with the whole “my entire country is dangerously transphobic now” thing. Similarly, Hodge laments the retiring of “Trannyshack” as a brand identity, insisting it was meant only in love. And, you know something? I completely believe that. But times move on. Also it’s interesting to me that Hodge speaks so eloquently about the wounds caused by having slurs flung at him by strangers (something that starts in the playground for most queer kids, and Hodge is no exception) without recognising that other people are receiving exactly the same wounds, just from a different set of words. I think my personal conclusion on all this is that we can reclaim terminology for ourselves, but not on behalf others, and we are too quick to insist things are “just words” when they don’t directly affect us. Also I’m pretty sure at least *a* club with that name is still knocking around. So ehhh?

Basically, though, this is a super engaging read. I think a good autobiography often feels a conversation with the person writing—I mean, on their terms, of course—and I got that sense here. I genuinely enjoyed Hodge’s company, his wit, and his honesty (while he doesn’t dwell on them indulgently, he’s unflinching in acknowledging his own bad choices), and a glimpse into a time I have a weird and unjustified affinity for, considering I was either non-existent or an actual child for most of it, and it was probably, in reality, quite grim to live through. That quite a lot of the era’s notable figures seem to have spiralled into destruction gives an added poignancy to Hodge’s experiences. It is genuinely lovely to see him happy and creatively fulfilled.

A fantastic book and a real insight into a time and life that I knew nothing about. I picked this book to read by chance knowing nothing about David but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m sure it would be enjoyed even more by those that know more about the era too. A gorgeous read and really inspiring

Pretty disappointing. Starts well with his early life but once he arrives in London, it really loses pace and interest. Very repetitive about how the author is perennially amazed at how incredible his life has turned out, mainly based on who he knows.

The Boy Who Sat By the Window: The Story of the Queen of Soho by David Hodge was a Breath of Fresh air!

This book by David was a wonderful find, especially if you were a 70's kid then going up into the 80's and then 90's. Comments that were said by famous comedians - Bernard Manning, Les Dawson etc and other famous people of this time would not be allowed to get away with what they said and done on TV or the Stage etc.........but made me chuckle just as it did back then! Things were so different then,
Then the 80's came into light, music was at its best. Boy George, Kylie Minogue, The Pet Shop Boys, Grace Jones, Cyndi Lauper etc this was just a few that was spoken about in this book. Then, HIV and AIDS hit also hit 80's with scare mongering from the Thatcher government etc- was the time of my life I will never forget.

David wrote his story with so much love and from the heart. It was beautifully written throughout I just fell in love with this book from the very beginning till the end. Plus the cover was wonderful. I loved it.

David was a skinny, ginger-haired kid from Walsall who was bullied at school, and then became the ‘Queen of Soho’, and rule London’s drag scene in its most dazzling era. But behind all this glitter, make up and glamour there was a darker side of it all. David worked and had a very caring role to him, he was working simultaneously at London Lighthouse, this was the pioneering centre for the care of people living with HIV and AIDS. David had to grow up fast and opened his eyes to the true impact of this terrifying pandemic. The contrast was stark between the life of David Hodge during the day and the life of Miss Dusty O after dark. she loved to wear Vivienne Westwood outfits, etc with lots of Colour, lots of rhinestones etc and looking glamorous from top to bottom. Now I loved reading about her...........She was wonderful.

David survived a murder attempt and bankruptcy So glad he wrote this book about his life.
But, there was always loneliness and he always felt different. He has a heart of gold and just wanted to share it with someone. I was so happy for him to finally find love and marry at the end. I could hug him.

You will find parts of his book. "Uncensored." but don't read it Darling's if that bothers you!

It's a truly wonderful true story about a young boy called David Hodge a skinny, ginger-haired kid from Walsall He tells his story who was an unassuming boy, separated from other children within the class/school and was made to sit by the window, His relationship between his mum, dad and siblings and then went onto a remarkable career, who became an inspiration to us all

Bloody Brilliant.......5 STAR Book and a must read. Plus a must buy when it comes out in the shops to re-read again in the future and to admire the cover to this book.

Now Who didn't have a poster/s of Boy George on their bedroom walls when they were Young? My bedroom wall was full of them!

David Hodge has written a very memorable and heartfelt book with honesty and the ability to share the intimacies, intricacies and difficulties of his life. His childhood was filled with bullying. He was an outsider amongst his peers long before his queerness was known. His encouraging savior/school teacher helped him to feel comfortable in his own skin and his world went from black and white to color.
Hodge carefully navigates the reader through his job at an HIV/AIDS patient care facility in London, through the androgynous pop world of the 80’s and the exuberant 1990’s Soho. His dual persona of David and ‘Dusty O’ the drag of the London scene offer insight into the tough, booze filled, rough, tumbled and toxic experiences that was Hodge’s reality. The glitz, glamor and glimmer had dark shadows looming.
Yes, there are several celebrity hob-bobbing moments but this is by far not a gossip driven narrative. This is about a path traveled, personalities and relationships created and destroyed and the willingness to leave the past behind and begin again.
My thanks to NetGalley, David Hodge and Mardle Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest book review of the extraordinary read.

This was a brilliant insight into David Hodge’s life growIng up in Walsall and London in the 70’s.,80’s and 90’s .and beyond.It’s starts off with is the unhappy school days and home life,but when he moves to London with a friend his whole life changes for the better, and soon he becomes the Queen Of Soho as a drag artist and all over the world, with lots of interesting stories along the way from being friends with Boy George to Marilyn and other celebrities.It had me laughing in parts and feeling sorry for him in it others,it Is was great to go back in time and relive the period in which i grew up in,i would definitely recommend this book to anyone who did the same.A great five star read.

Sometimes I feel like the myths of my youth are being celebrated and Miss Dusty O is amongst them. It was an interesting read, a bit sad at times but full of interesting insights.
There's the scene, the famous faces but there's also a lot of food for thought.
Strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Five Stars!
Coming September 2022

The Boy Who Sat By the Window is a behind the scenes look at the outrageous drag scene and club scene in London in the 80s and 90s. Unfortunately I was a bit too young and born on the wrong side of the Atlantic to experience it, but I really couldn’t ask for a better tour guide on my tour -- The Queen of Soho, the drop-dead gorgeous Very Miss Dusty O has seen and done it all! Front row at Versace fashion shows, traveling the world, dinner parties with Madonna and Cher, cavorting on a bar with Grace Jones, and dancing on a float with Boy George (!!) in a Pride parade. It’s literally the life of dreams.

But more than Dusty, there’s the story of David, the little boy who was sat by the window because he was bullied for being different. David, the young man who lived through the AIDS crisis and homophobia and survived addiction, a murder attempt, losing friends and family. David who overcame all the obstacles in his path and is now discovering and learning to love his true self. Though Dusty sounds like she was absolutely fabulous, I loved getting to know David most, rooting for him, and following his journey of discovery. I can’t recommend this enough.

I am so grateful to Netgalley, David Hodge, and Ad Lib Publishers/Mardle Books for the opportunity to read and review The Boy Who Sat By The Window.

Artist David Hodge and his former long-term drag persona The Very Miss Dusty O have a very complex relationship, and that's even after he killed her off, twice. In his new memoir, Hodge takes us from queer childhood in the 70s and 80s, through London’s vibrant Soho in the 90s and decline in the 00s, to the demise of Dusty O and the rebirth of David Hodge as a visual artist… with some ferociously frank observations of celebrity, fame and drag life along the way.

Starting off as a ginger kid from Walsall, already an outsider before the first twinkle of queerness rose in him, he was bullied, living with waring parents and desperate for an escape. Hodge found inspiration in a teacher who encouraged him to be himself and soon his world transformed through the lens of 80s androgynous pop music and the power of Vivienne Westwood.

But before Dusty O would become the premiere drag personality of London’s clubland at night, David Hodge would live a different life by day, working at London’s Lighthouse (a care facility for people living with HIV and AIDS). This duality, the line between David and Dusty, drives his life in fascinating directions.

Hodge is well aware that many readers will come to The Boy Who Sat by the Window for the gossip. Brushing shoulders with Princess Diana, dining with Madonna, fighting with his friend Boy George, partying with Robbie Williams, Pete Burns, Kylie Minogue and Grace Jones etc. But if you’re looking for the acid-tongued wit that made Dusty O a legend, then you may be disappointed to find there is a tone of understanding and forgiveness in his voice. Hodge may serve the tea, but he’s added some soothing honey to counter the bitterness. After all, who is Dusty O to throw stones at the self-centred narcissists in this world, when he was one of them?

Dusty O’s world was old-school drag - boozy, fantastical, rough and dangerous. And Hodge’s tales of London’s famed Pushca and Trannyshack make for a great companion read to Jeremy Atherton Lin’s excellent history of London’s gay scene, Gay Bar: Why We Went Out. Hearing about the Showgirls-like inner-workings of the drag scene comes as something of a splash of cold reality compared to the sisterly love-fest of recent RuPaul’s Drag Race.

There is a conversational, confessional tone to the book that makes for a very easy read. Hodge carefully navigates his own story with a weary resignation to his own faults, a calm eye over his misadventures. There is still an ego at play, and while Hodge offers some signs of humility it’s clear there’s still an edge of steel to him. What could easily have come as a series of glib humble-brags or outright gloats is tempered with something akin to wisdom.

It’s often the case that people who strive for what they think they need only discover it’s emptiness when they get it and it’s Hodge’s musings on the end of his drag career and his discovery of visual art that inspires. You get the impression that leaving Dusty O behind was bumpier than he admits, and there is a real melancholy in his writing as he describes putting the persona down. Just because a relationship became toxic doesn’t mean there wasn’t love there.

Can you accuse David Hodge of faux-humility? Possibly. You can play a dangerous drinking game by noting the number of times the phrase “the Queen of Soho” comes up. Can you accuse him of gross ignorance? Sure. Taking gigs in homophobic countries for the pay-cheque don’t show him in the best light. But The Boy Who Sat in the Window is as much a cautionary tale as it is a chronicle of a wondrous time in London’s gay life. Mistakes were made and Hodge owns them, and that self-awareness makes for a great read.

The life and times of both David Hodge and his alter ego, the celebrated drag queen, The Very Miss Dusty O. Hodge documents the highs and lows of building a life using just one, small, albeit glorious aspect of yourself and the cost that extracts from you as a whole person. From a bullied young boy in Birmingham to the Queen of Soho and what happened to the man behind it all, this is a fascinating, un-self-pitying read.

I loved this exploration of such a particular facet of queer history. Author David Hodge does a wonderful job composing The Boy Who Sat By the Window, and I'm happy to recommend it to anyone with a love of queer nonfiction.