New academic research has shed fresh light on the personal life of World War Two codebreaker Alan Turing, suggesting he possessed a playful sense of humour and openly embraced his homosexuality. A previously unpublished short story, penned by Turing himself, has been transcribed and studied for the first time, offering a more nuanced portrait of the man often depicted as an isolated genius.
The six-page handwritten tale, titled 'Pryce's Buoy', was analysed by Professor Sarah Dillon, a literature expert at the University of Cambridge. Professor Dillon suggests that the story, likely written in late 1952 or early 1953, provides insights that challenge the prevailing two-dimensional stereotype of Turing as solely concerned with logic and numbers, and socially unaware. Instead, the research points to a man who was 'playful, funny, cheeky, literary, and someone who really liked sex'.
Turing's crucial contributions to the Allied victory over Nazi Germany are well-documented, particularly his role in cracking the Enigma machine codes at Bletchley Park. Post-war, he made significant advancements in the development of digital computers. However, his personal life was marked by tragedy; he was convicted of gross indecency in 1952, a charge related to his homosexuality, and was forced to undergo hormone treatment. He tragically took his own life in June 1954 at the age of 41.
The newly analysed story features characters named Ron Miller, described as a working-class sex worker, and Alec Pryce, a gay scientist known for an invention called 'Pryce's buoy'. Professor Dillon believes the narrative is a direct fictionalisation of a sexual encounter in the 1950s that ultimately led to Turing's arrest and conviction. This period, she argues, was a time when Turing was actively trying to understand himself and his world, with literature providing a powerful outlet for his creativity and self-expression.
Further analysis by Professor Dillon reveals that Turing's writing style in 'Pryce's Buoy' was influenced by 'Hemlock And After', a novel by Angus Wilson, another veteran of Bletchley Park. Professor Dillon suggests that reading Wilson's gay novel at such a pivotal and traumatic moment in his life must have been a profoundly impactful experience for Turing, offering him a sense of release and a chance to be more creative and playful in his writing.