Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast Episode 316 - On the Shelf for June 2025

Sunday, June 8, 2025 - 08:32

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Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 316 - On the Shelf for June 2025 - Transcript

(Originally aired 2025/06/07 - listen here)

Welcome to On the Shelf for June 2025.

I’d say something about Pride Month, but here at the Lesbian Historic Motif Project, every month is Pride Month. Even so, I’ve committed to blogging a publication every day this month, just because.

Publications on the Blog

I’m still in the middle of a thematic series on research relevant to US lesbian history. After my somewhat distracted time in April (when, if you’ll remember, I was frantically preparing for retirement), May saw me covering three books and one article on that theme. Michael Bronski’s A Queer History of the United States was mildly interesting, although it was primarily interested in situating queer history within larger social movements. Wendy Rouse’s Public Faces, Secret Lives: A Queer History of the Women’s Suffrage Movement was absolutely amazing and I’m recommending it as essential background reading for anyone interested in lesbian history in the late 19th and early 20th century. Peter Boag’s Re-Dressing America’s Frontier Past looks at cross-dressing (broadly defined) in the “Wild West” and how those individuals were erased or explained away in the popular understanding of American history. I also blogged a journal article by Boag discussing how that book came to be written and some of the logistical difficulties of the research.

Stuck in the middle of this thematic series was Judith C. Brown’s Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy, as background for a podcast last month.

I don’t know if I’ll have enough American material to continue the theme all month, but it’s a good excuse to get caught up with that set of topics.

News of the Field

As one of my retirement projects, I plan to put up more bonus content for Patreon subscribers. This will largely be content only available to paying patrons, because I want to see if I can grow the support for the Project in a meaningful way. Currently I’ve put up the outline for the book project and am brainstorming for other material patrons might be interested in.

I’ve also re-started my author newsletter, which will have interesting news and maybe even some special offers related to my own fiction writing. You can sign up through a link on my website, which you can find in the show notes, assuming you didn’t find the podcast directly through the website in the first place.

I’m still settling into my expanded activities, now that I don’t have a day job. Or at least, now that I don’t have another day job besides writing and the Project. So expect things to pick up gradually.

Book Shopping!

In May, of course, I went off to the annual Medieval Congress in Michigan, which used to be a good opportunity for book shopping, but we seem to be in a several-year lull in queer history publications—at least, in terms of what the publishers have on display at the Congress. I did pick up the latest volume of Medieval Clothing and Textiles, plus a book on Tudor and Stuart cookery, but nothing for the Project.

Recent Lesbian/Sapphic Historical Fiction

Fortunately, there’s no lull in the release of new lesbian and sapphic historical fiction. This month I saw another dozen or so books in cookie-cutter series that I suspect are AI generated and have chosen not to promote. Plus one book that not only smells of AI-generation but where other books by the same author are non-fiction about using AI for writing. I mention this so that listeners are aware of what’s going on out there in the publishing world. Be aware of what you’re consuming and how those choices are supporting or undermining the field.

Having gotten that out of the way, I want to mention a February book that almost slipped past me. When I interviewed Margaret Vandenburg about her recent release Craze, she mentioned that Cleis Press would be re-releasing her previous book, An American in Paris. This part of the story gives the background to the main character in Craze.

“In the States, celibacy had never been my strong suit. In Paris, it was a crime against nature—a mortal sin.” With this cheeky response to her new city, Henri Adams—recently released from the tyranny of Prohibition and freshly appointed as an art correspondent for En Vogue magazine—sets out to discover the literary, artistic, and more unmentionable pleasures of Paris during the Roaring Twenties. Welcomed with open arms by Gertrude Stein (and somewhat more soberly by Alice B. Toklas), Henri hobnobs with expatriate luminaries—Natalie Barney, Picasso, Colette, Romaine Brooks, Ernest Hemingway, Djuna Barnes—and unleashes her Yankee curiosity, only to find herself entangled in an avant-garde art theft ring and the shackles of Paris’ sapphic underground.

Several April books only just came to my attention. First up is Whispers of Love Beneath the Hidden Manor by Aiyo Sa.

A forbidden bond. A deadly secret. A journey toward freedom.

In the grand, shadowed halls of a noble house, Pinfa arrives as the fourth wife—on the very day the first wife mysteriously dies. Behind the perfumed tea and silk-draped corridors, whispers of betrayal and poison weave an invisible web.

Amid suspicion and hidden grief, Pinfa meets Lalin—an elegant wife with a smile like soft rain and eyes that conceal unspoken storms. As their hearts begin to entwine, Pinfa finds herself torn between uncovering a killer and surrendering to a love she was never meant to have.

When trust shatters and death creeps closer with each passing day, Pinfa must choose: Expose the truth and destroy everything, or grasp the fragile, forbidden happiness that blooms even in the darkest soil.

Set against the haunting beauty of old Siam, Whispers of Love and Poison is a slow-burn, girl-love historical thriller of yearning, secrets, and a love fierce enough to defy fate itself.

Caitlin Crowe offers us a high-society romance in The Ladies.

Lady Emily, a wealthy young woman in Victorian England, is expected to marry advantageously to secure her family's fortune. She unexpectedly finds herself attracted to Lady Victoria, a bold and unconventional woman who defies societal expectations. Their secret courtship begins with stolen moments in secluded gardens and hidden corners of London, their love blossoming despite the rigid social norms of the time. However, their relationship faces significant challenges as gossip spreads amongst London's high society, threatening their reputations and the standing of their families. Lady Emily is pressured to marry a suitable man, while Lady Victoria grapples with her own desires and the fear of public condemnation.

Just as I sometimes have to make my best guess on sapphic content, I sometimes have to make guesses to track other types of representation. The Eye of the Water: Between Creek and Roots by Stephanie Hager-Lyons appears to feature Black characters, based on the cover illustration.

When Jo McBrayer steps into the creek behind her family’s Louisiana farmhouse, she doesn’t expect to step back in time. But that’s exactly what happens—just long enough to see a house that shouldn’t be standing, fields full of workers long gone, and a woman with eyes full of recognition.

Her sister Liz, a practical academic, dismisses it as one of Jo’s wild tales—until Jo brings back a journal. Leather-bound. Dated 1906. Written by a woman named Marcella McBrayer who, according to family records, never existed.

As Jo slips deeper into the past, drawn back again and again by the mysterious pull of the land, Liz begins to uncover long-buried secrets—of love and erasure, of bloodlines severed and rewritten. At the center of it all is a child named Clara, hidden from history, and a symbol carved into oak, stone, and memory: an eye surrounded by crescent moons.

There’s one new May book that I found: A Soft Place to Land by Kelsey Kranz.

After an unexpectedly intimate encounter in the fall of 1950, best friends Virginia and Elaine part ways to each follow their dreams—Elaine to medical school, and Virginia to find a husband. When Elaine returns, and Virginia turns up in the middle of the night, the two realize their mutual youthful crush has evolved into much deeper romantic feelings. But in an era when widespread fears of communism produce immense pressure to adhere to rigid social norms, there is no path for two women to fall in love. Together, they must learn how to protect their relationship—and each other—from the consequences of choosing love.

As usual, the new releases for the current month of June are dominated by books from mainstream presses, which tend to have better advance publicity than indies. This month, they’re also a bit heavy on the historic fantasy, starting with Lady's Knight by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner from Harper Collins.

Gwen is sick of hiding—hiding the fact that she’s taken over her father’s blacksmithing duties, hiding her attraction to girls, hiding her yearning for glory as a knight.

Meanwhile, Lady Isobelle of Avington, queen bee of the castle, has never once considered hiding who she is—until now. She’s been chosen as the grand prize in the Tournament of Dragonslayers, to be given to whichever knight can claim her hand. And for the first time in her life, she can’t talk her way out of trouble.

When Isobelle discovers Gwen’s knightly ambitions, they hatch a scheme together—Gwen will joust in the tournament, disguised as Sir Gawain. Winning means freedom for Isobelle, and glory for Gwen. Losing means… well, let’s not go there.

One thing’s for sure: Falling in love was never the plan.

But the best laid plans…are often trampled all over by dragons.

I’ve heard very interesting things about Six Wild Crowns by Holly Race from Little Brown, which is set in an alternate Tudor England.

The king has been appointed by god to marry six queens. Those six queens are all that stand between the kingdom of Elben and ruin. Or so we have been told.

Each queen vies for attention. Clever, ambitious Boleyn is determined to be Henry's favourite. And if she must incite a war to win Henry over? So be it.

Seymour acts as spy and assassin in a court teeming with dragons, backstabbing courtiers and strange magic. But when she and Boleyn become the unlikeliest of things - allies - the balance of power begins to shift. Together they will discover an ancient, rotting magic at Elben's heart. A magic that their king will do anything to protect.

I’m not sure whether Daughter of Doom by Jean-Claude van Rijckeghem from Levine Querido has overt fantasy elements or simply includes period-appropriate belief in gods and fate.

Denmark, 870 AD. Yrsa knows her place in the village of Mimir’s Stool. Though she was born with a crooked foot, she’s never let anyone underestimate her; after all, she’s the daughter of Toke the helmsman and granddaughter of the fearsome warrior Gudrun the Torch (who, according to legend, stood before the walls of Paris, splattered in the blood of Frankish warriors). And no one else in the village shares her ability to see what the Norns, the three weavers who live under the roots of Yggdrasil, the world tree, and craft people’s fates, have in store for them.

One day the men return from a raid with a high-ranking hostage, Sister Job, and though the two girls couldn’t be more different, they look out for one another. And when one of the villagers viciously assaults Sister Job and she and Yrsa mortally wound him in self-defense, they’re forced to take to the sea to escape the wrath of the warriors of Mimir’s Stool, and worse, the wrath of the gods. Can either of them escape their fate? Do they even want to?

The next book up is by this month’s featured author. A Rare Find by Joanna Lowell from Berkley Publishing Group is a charming Regency romance involving amateur archaeology and with a non-binary love interest.

Elfreda Marsden has finally made a major discovery—an ancient amulet proving the Viking army camped on her family’s estate. Too bad her nemesis is back from London, freshly exiled after a scandal and ready to wreak havoc on her life. Georgie Redmayne is everything Elfreda isn’t--charming, popular, carefree, distractingly attractive, and bored to death by the countryside. When the two collide (literally), the amulet is lost, and with it, Elfreda’s big chance to lead a proper excavation. Now Elfreda needs new evidence of medieval activity, and Georgie needs money to escape the doldrums of Derbyshire. Joining forces to locate a hidden hoard of Viking gold is the best chance for them both.

Marsdens and Redmaynes don’t get along, and that’s the least of the reasons these enemies can’t dream of something more. But as the quest takes them on unexpected adventures, sparks of attraction ignite a feeling increasingly difficult to identify as hatred. It’s far too risky to explore. And far too tempting to resist. Elfreda and Georgie soon find that the real treasure comes with a steep price… and the promise of a happiness beyond all measure.

Rachel Ford’s Meredith and Alex Thatch mystery series has a third installment, Murder by Proxy. The cover copy focuses on the mystery and takes for granted that you know that Alex Thatch is in gender disguise for the sake of her marriage.

Murder is one thing, but quiet Fenwood-On-Sea is simply not prepared for Aunt Anne and her love affairs. After an unexpected revelation from her latest paramour, Aunt Anne’s happy world is thrown into disarray. In despair, she seeks refuge in Fenwood-On-Sea with Alec and Merry. Unfortunately, murder follows her. Or so it seems. Someone is killing, seemingly without rhyme or reason – and the only link between the victims is their connection to Anne herself. As the bodies start to stack up, Alec and Merry race to find the killer – before he or she gets to them.

I had to wait for some early reviews to confirm the sapphic content in Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab from Tor.com. The early reviews were also my first clue that it has vampire content. As a general tendency, vampire novels don’t tend to fit my parameters for historical fiction, unless the historic setting is a strong part of the plot, as in this case.

This is a story about hunger. 1532. Santo Domingo de la Calzada.

A young girl grows up wild and wily—her beauty is only outmatched by her dreams of escape. But María knows she can only ever be a prize, or a pawn, in the games played by men. When an alluring stranger offers an alternate path, María makes a desperate choice. She vows to have no regrets.

This is a story about love. 1827. London.

A young woman lives an idyllic but cloistered life on her family’s estate, until a moment of forbidden intimacy sees her shipped off to London. Charlotte’s tender heart and seemingly impossible wishes are swept away by an invitation from a beautiful widow—but the price of freedom is higher than she could have imagined.

This is a story about rage. 2019. Boston.

College was supposed to be her chance to be someone new. That’s why Alice moved halfway across the world, leaving her old life behind. But after an out-of-character one-night stand leaves her questioning her past, her present, and her future, Alice throws herself into the hunt for answers . . . and revenge.

Other Books of Interest

I’m putting two titles in the “other books of interest” section. The first one, Damsels and Dinosaurs by Wren Jones, gets classified here because it sounds like the sapphic content may be restricted to an ex-girlfriend. But hey, at least there are dinosaurs?

The Fletcher family honey business teeters on the brink of bankruptcy as shipments from their eccentric matriarch's farm grow scarce. But Poppy refuses to let her family become destitute and she will do anything to get to the bottom of the mystery. However, on her aunt’s strange island, Poppy finds more questions than answers. The bees defy expectations, the farm is full of ancient creatures, and her aunt’s secrets run deeper than she originally suspected.

Meanwhile, her imminent arranged marriage to the heir of a prominent tea company, Giuseppe, jeopardizes her investigation. Their meddling families are relentless in making the marriage a swift reality – even if that means sending Giuseppe and Poppy’s grumpy ex, Athena, to retrieve her.

Athena knows the reunion will be awkward, and getting the stubborn Poppy to do anything will be difficult, but she can’t resist the promise of the island. If she can win over Poppy’s mysterious aunt, she might finally get the opportunity to pursue her dreams.

Giuseppe just wants to draw, drink tea, and avoid all the drama. But he supposes he must go along too. It is his future wife, after all.

On an island where the scandals are bigger than the dinosaurs, a group of Regency aristocrats search for their second chances and rewrite history as we know it.

The second title is placed in this section because, although it’s clearly sapphic, it isn’t clear how much of the content would count as historic. But I figure my listeners might have an interest in sword-lesbians in general, which are the main theme in By Her Sword: A Sapphic Fantasy Romance Anthology edited by Erin Branch from Sunset Wave Press.

A fiery mage tracks down the swordswoman who escaped with more than just a magical relic. Across the stars, ex-lovers get a second chance on a dragon-infested planet. In a different galaxy, a confident gladiator must melt the frozen heart of an ice princess. During the distant past of feudal Japan, a traveler with a Jinn inside her faces the challenge of her life. This fantasy collection features twelve swashbuckling adventures spanning a variety of settings, from the distant magical past to the speculative galactic future.

What Am I Reading?

And what am I reading? Despite all my new free time, I haven’t managed to finish a single novel in the last month, though that was largely due to getting sucked in by Ada Palmer’s history book Inventing the Renaissance. Palmer is also a science fiction author, but this book comes from her primary career as a historian. It’s a delightfully readable (if very long!) explanation of why everything you thought you knew about the Italian Renaissance is probably wrong, but that the reality was far more fascinating.

Author Guest

As mentioned previously, we have an interview this month with Joanna Lowell.

(Transcription will be added when available.)

Show Notes

Your monthly roundup of history, news, and the field of sapphic historical fiction.

In this episode we talk about:

Recent and upcoming publications covered on the blog
- Bronski, Michael. 2012. A Queer History of the United States (ReVisioning American History). Beacon Press. ISBN 978-0807044650
- Rouse, Wendy L. 2022. Public Faces, Secret Lives: A Queer History of the Women’s Suffrage Movement. New York: NYU Press. ISBN 9781479813940
- Boag, Peter. 2011. Re-Dressing America's Frontier Past. University of California Press, Berkeley. ISBN 978-0-520-27062-6
- Boag, Peter. 2011. “The Trouble with Cross-Dressers: Researching and Writing the History of Sexual and Gender Transgressiveness in the Nineteenth-Century American West” in Oregon Historical Quarterly, Vol. 112, No. 3: 322-339
- Brown, Judith, C. 1986. Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy. Oxford University Press, New York. ISBN 0-19-504225-5
Recent Lesbian/Sapphic Historical Fiction
Other Titles of Interest
- Damsels and Dinosaurs by Wren Jones
- By Her Sword: A Sapphic Fantasy Romance Anthology (Sunset Wave Sapphic Anthologies #2) edited by Erin Branch
What I’ve been consuming
- Inventing the Renaissance by Ada Palmer
This month we interview Joanna Lowell and talk about:
- Working with historical language and issues around characters who don’t fall neatly in the gender binary
- How her previous books connect together
- Actor Charlotte Charke as an inspiration for the character of Georgie
- Theater as a place for queer themes
- Avoiding being locked into incorrect historical tropes
- How the novels of Alexis Hall and Sarah Waters work differently with gender
- The difficulty of getting away from modern identity categories
- Books Joanna has recently enjoyed:
  - A Gentleman’s Gentleman by T.J. Alexander
  - Ladies in Hating by Alexandra Vasti