Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast Episode 311 - On the Shelf for April 2025

Sunday, April 6, 2025 - 13:30

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Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 311 - On the Shelf for April 2025 - Transcript

(Originally aired 2025/04/06 - listen here)

Welcome to On the Shelf for April 2025.

Usually when the podcast comes out later than my target Saturday, it’s because life has gotten busy and I’m scrambling to finish writing the script and recording that weekend. For the essay show in March, it was because my brain entirely lost track of what week it was and I recorded the episode a week late. But for this current episode, I delayed release for a couple days because of a special announcement that just came out.

News of the Field

If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you might possibly remember that a year ago I published several articles analyzing the very peculiar nomination and voting data behind the 2023 Hugo Awards, one of the premier science fiction and fantasy awards, chosen annually by members of the World Science Fiction Society in conjunction with Worldcon. Several people were digging into various aspects of those voting peculiarities, which created quite the ruckus at the time, even making it into mainstream media. One of those other analysts, who goes by the pen name Camestros Felapton, asked me to collaborate with him on an extensive data analysis titled “Charting the Cliff: An Investigation into the 2023 Hugo Nomination Statistics.”

Now, another thing you need to know is that one of the categories for the Hugo Awards is the “Best Related Work” for SFF-related items that don’t fall in any of the fiction or art categories, often a non-fiction book or essay. And our essay, “Charting the Cliff” has been selected as a finalist for the Best Related Work Hugo Award.

I don’t know to what extent the listeners of this podcast overlap with SFF fandom, but this is rather huge. I’ve been vibrating with excitement for the last several weeks, but unable to tell anyone why until the official finalist announcements.

So…not in any way directly related to lesbian history or historical fiction, but very meaningful for me.

And, of course, the other exciting thing in my life is that my retirement date is less than a month away now. I’m still working on lining up all the necessary ducks for that, because bureaucracy moves slowly. You might hear them quacking away in the background.

[sound of quacking]

Publications on the Blog

In March, the blog continued my progress through some article collections, this time with more solid lesbian relevance, with Homosexuality in Modern France edited by Jeffrey Merrick and Bryant T. Ragan, Jr. The specific articles I selected for inclusion are “The Enlightenment Confronts Homosexuality” by Bryant T. Ragan Jr., “The Marquis de Villette and Mademoiselle de Raucourt: Representations of Male and Female Sexual Deviance in Late Eighteenth-Century France” by Jeffrey Merrick, “Pass as a Woman, Act like a Man: Marie-Antoinette as Tribade in the Pornography of the French Revolution” by Elizabeth Colwill, and “Invisible Women: Lesbian Working-class Culture in France, 1880-1930” by Francesca Canadé Sautman.

After finishing those, I grabbed several random books from the shelf that looked like I could get through them quickly. The Lesbian History Sourcebook: love and sex between women in Britain from 1780 to 1970 by Alison Oram and Annmarie Turnbull is a collection of extracts from historic texts intended for use in the classroom. Gentleman Jack: The Real Anne Lister by Anne Choma is the companion book to the tv series, laying out Lister’s actual history during the period covered by the show. And finally, The Case of The Abbot of Drimnagh: A Medieval Irish Story of Sex-Change by Tadhg Ó Síocháin analyzes a supernatural tale from an early Irish manuscript and what it says about gender and storytelling.

Looking over the “to do” section of my bookshelves, I’m thinking of spending some time reading USA-centered histories—a field I often find myself overlooking when I reach for something to read.

Book Shopping!

I haven’t been shopping for new books for the blog lately. Not sure whether it’s because we’re in a slump for relevant publications or whether titles simply aren’t coming to my attention. Though goodness knows I have plenty of to-do items lying around!

Recent Lesbian/Sapphic Historical Fiction

New lesbian and sapphic historical fiction is an interesting mix this month. The non-series books—and I’ll talk about the series books later—are all from mainstream presses. I’m not sure where the indie and small press sapphic historicals are this month. Is it an empty blip in the calendar? Or are my usual search processes not turning them up? In any event, here’s what I’ve got.

Glitter in the Dark by Olesya Lyuzna from Mysterious Press follows the recent trend for books set in the Prohibition Era.

Ambitious advice columnist Ginny Dugan knows she’s capable of more than solving other people’s beauty problems, but her boss at Photoplay magazine thinks she's only fit for fluff pieces. When she witnesses the kidnapping of a famous singer at Harlem’s hottest speakeasy, nobody takes her seriously, but Ginny knows what she saw―and what she saw haunts her.

Guilt-ridden over her failure to stop the kidnappers and hard-pressed for cash to finally move out of her uptight showgirl sister’s apartment, Ginny resolves to chase down the truth that will clear her conscience and maybe win her a promotion in the process. She manipulates a brooding detective into a reluctant partnership and together they uncover a sinister plot that pulls them into the dazzling yet dangerous world of the Ziegfeld Follies. Meanwhile, Ginny grapples with a secret of her own―she's fallen for Gloria Gardner, the star of the show. In the Roaring Twenties, their love isn't just scandalous; it’s illegal.

But when a brutal murder strikes someone close to her, Ginny realizes the stakes are higher than she ever imagined. This glamorous world has a deadly edge, and Ginny must shatter her every illusion to catch the shadowy killer before they strike again.

It took me a couple volumes into The Forge and Fracture Series by Brittany N. Williams from Amulet Books to spot the clues of sapphic content. (And to be clear, the reference is to the female protagonist being torn between female and male love interests, and I don’t know how that resolves.) So I’m including the series for the third book’s release: Iron Tongue of Midnight (The Forge & Fracture Saga #3). The two earlier volumes—That Self-Same Metal and Saint-Seducing Gold—came out in 2023 and 2024. As a bit of background from book 1:

Sixteen-year-old Joan Sands is a gifted craftswoman who creates and upkeeps the stage blades for William Shakespeare’s acting company, The King’s Men. Joan’s skill with her blades comes from a magical ability to control metal—an ability gifted by her Head Orisha, Ogun. Because her whole family is Orisha-blessed, the Sands family have always kept tabs on the Fae presence in London.

In the current book, we get the following:

Tensions between humans and fae have never been higher. Magical metal-worker Joan Sands, Shakespeare’s players, and King James I himself have been driven out of London by fae queen Titanea. Her fairy monsters have been unleashed in the city, harassing and slaughtering innocent people. Joan knows there’s only one way to bring peace: She must reforge the pact between humanity and fae.

But first, Joan must unravel the mystery behind the original pact, with the help of her two loves, Rose and Nick. As Queen Titanea’s power grows, Joan realizes her gifts may not be enough to stop her. And when the king’s whims lead to dire consequences, Joan must decide: Is her world even worth saving?

I had to check reviews to confirm that Mere by Danielle Giles from Pan MacMillan has sapphic content, but it was solidly established.

Norfolk, 990 AD. Deep in the Fens, isolated by a vast and treacherous mere, an order of holy sisters make their home. Under the steely guidance of Abbess Sigeburg they follow God’s path, looking to their infirmarian, Hilda, to provide what comfort and cures she can.

But when the mere takes a young servant boy, Sigeburg’s grip falters and Hilda quickly realizes this place holds secrets darker and more unholy than she can fathom.

Then proud Sister Wulfrun, a recent arrival to the convent, has a vision: a curse is upon them and change must be brought. Is she saint or serpent? To Hilda, Wulfrun is a signal bolder and brighter than any fire set – one she cannot help but follow . . .

Renegade Girls: A Queer Tale of Romance and Rabble-Rousing by Nora Neus and Julie Robine is a graphic novel from Little, Brown Ink.

Seventeen-year-old Helena “Nell” Cusack came to New York this summer looking for a story—a real story. She dreams of one day writing hard-hitting articles for the New York Chronicle, but so far she's only managed to land a job as a lowly society reporter. That is, until Alice Austen strolls into her life, an audacious street photographer who encourages Nell to shake up polite society…and maybe also take a chance on love.

When her best friend, Lucia, is injured while working in a garment factory, Nell is determined to crack the story wide open. Posing as a seamstress, she reports on the conditions from the inside, making a name for herself as the Chronicle’s first ever stunt girl. But as Nell’s reporting gains momentum, so do the objections of those who oppose her. Will Nell continue to seek justice—even if it hurts her in the end?

Based on real-life stunt girl Nell Nelson and photographer Alice Austen, this tenderly drawn narrative is about bringing buried stories to light and the bravery of first love.

Last month I noted that a couple of authors had released whole handfuls of series books within a short time period, and I discussed my concerns about whether this was a red flag regarding content. The same phenomenon dominates the total numbers of books this month, representing three-quarters of the titles in my spreadsheet. I’m going to say quite honestly that I still have an uneasy feeling about this topic. I don’t see any obvious “tells” of the books being AI generated. The settings are much more “just vibes” than accurate history, but that goes for a large number of sapphic historicals, even those that aren’t overtly historic fantasy. But when it comes down to it, I just feel weird about giving that much air time to individually listing these cookie-cutter series all in a big lump. So my compromise is to discuss each series as a whole with a high-level overview, but not giving the cover copy for each individual title.

Delilah Kent, who presented us with the Scandal & Sapphire series last month, has a 6-volume series named The Highwaywomen, with the titles The Scarlett Highwaywoman, A Thief’s Kiss, Velvet & Vengeance, The Butcher’s Bride, The Duchess and the Dagger, and Reckless Hearts. The stories appear to be standalones and are set variously in the Regency and Victorian eras. Based on the cover copy, only one of the volumes appears to concern an actual highwaywoman, but all involve the criminal underworld in some fashion.

The Lesbian Pirates series by Marina Tempest—and there’s a carefully designed pen name if I ever saw one—adds four more titles to the two mentioned last month: Banshee’s Cry, Lucky Harp, Mercy’s Blade, and Midnight Serpent. Sapphic pirate romances rarely aim for strict historic accuracy, but the gender-blind casting of characters associated with the British Navy takes on new heights in this series, breaking free of the constraints of reality. The stories appear to all be stand-alones.

The Velvet & Vice series by V.C. Sterling is set in the 1920s, dealing with Prohibition, the criminal underworld, and the denizens of one particular speakeasy, The Velvet Viper. Each title focuses on the adventures and love life of a different couple. The five March and April titles newly added in today’s listings are: Rum & Roses, Brandy & Betrayal, Absinthe & Affection, Moonshine & Mayhem, and Scotch & Secrets.

What Am I Reading?

And what have I been reading in the past month? I don’t usually double-dip and count something both as personal reading and reading for the blog, but I’m going to do it for Gentleman Jack by Anne Choma. I don’t usually consume books for the blog via audiobook -- makes it hard to take notes! It made sense in this case because it’s more of a narrative history rather than a scholarly analysis. And my blog reads more like a book review than my usual summary. It’s a very readable biography and helps point out (though it doesn’t emphasize) the places where the tv show revised Lister’s actual life to make better drama.

On the fiction side, I listened to The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison. I think this finishes up the Cemeteries of Amalo series, set in the same universe as The Goblin Emperor. As with previous books in the series, there are a number of plot threads that braid together in the resolution. Our protagonist, a "witness for the dead" who can communicate with dead souls finds himself representing a murdered dragon. One of the other major plot threads about an escaped insurgent ties back in at the climax in a way that feels a little too convenient. And there's a surprising twist to a hinted-at romance arc that's been developing across the series. All in all, if this is the last book in this sequence, it’s a satisfying conclusion.

I also listened to The Suffragette Scandal by Courtney Milan. This is part of a multi-book series, so some of the character back stories come out in bits and pieces, but it stands alone well enough in my opinion. I've read several Courtney Milan historic romances in the past, with mixed impressions. This one worked very well for me, centering around the Victorian-era feminist movement and one of her favorite tropes: aristocrats who are desperately trying to escape their fate. But the reason I picked it up was for the very-much-in-the-background sapphic romance that has been slipped into the cracks of the main story.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed the last episode with our first short story of the year. I love how Rhiannon Grant constructs entire societies out of archaeological fragments. If you liked this Iron Age story, you should pick up her Neolithic duology.