Turing's Secret Story Reveals Playful, Gay Side

A recently transcribed short story by World War Two codebreaker Alan Turing, 'Pryce's Buoy,' offers a surprising new perspective on his life. Analysis by Professor Sarah Dillon suggests Turing possessed a playful sense of humor and embraced his homosexuality, challenging the conventional image of him as a solitary genius.

The six-page story, written around late 1952 or early 1953, features characters representing a sex worker and a gay scientist. Dillon believes the narrative is a direct fictionalization of a 1950s sexual encounter that ultimately led to Turing's arrest and conviction for gross indecency. He was subsequently subjected to hormone treatment and died by suicide in June 1954.

Dillon's research indicates Turing's literary efforts were a means of self-understanding during his final years. The story, written in the style of a gay novel by Angus Wilson, marked a pivotal moment for Turing amid personal trauma, allowing for creativity and playfulness. Turing received a posthumous pardon in 2013, leading to broader pardons for other gay and bisexual men convicted of similar offenses.