Queer historical fiction and fanfic

[rosefox]

Hello friends! Since self-promotion seems to be allowed, I thought I'd share two of my stories, a lesbian Regency romance novelette:

Making Arrangements (15622 words) by rosefox
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Original Work
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Female Regency Crossdressing Rake/Regency Bluestocking
Characters: Original Female Character(s)
Additional Tags: Tags Contain Spoilers, Regency, Regency Romance, Older Characters, Crossdressing, Flirting, Awkward Flirting, First Kiss, Kissing, Courtship, Dancing, Matchmaking, Tea, Friendship, Family, Friends to Lovers, Love Confessions, Confessions, Marriage Proposal, Tropes, Lesbian Character, Bisexual Character, Bisexual Female Character

Lady Darby's niece is a scandalous tribade. So is Lady Montgomery's daughter. And who ever heard of a society mama who could resist the chance to matchmake?

And a crossover fic set in 1958 slashing Susan Pevensie (Narnia) with Petrova Fossil (Ballet Shoes), with midcentury aviation because it's fun:

Flying High (827 words) by rosefox
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Ballet Shoes - Noel Streatfeild, Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis, Chronicles of Narnia - All Media Types
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Susan Pevensie/Petrova Fossil
Characters: Susan Pevensie, Petrova Fossil
Additional Tags: Airplanes

Petrova takes Susan aloft, and Susan considers implications.

Please share links to your favorite queer historical stories in the comments! I'd especially love to read portrayals of trans and gender non-conforming people in the 18th and 19th centuries, but it's all good. Let's make this a great resource post.

Comments

[auroracloud]

Ooh, thanks for the links, I'll definitely have to read the Regency romance novelette! I haven't actually read Ballet Shoes so I probably should read that before trying the second one (though I'm all for femslashing Susan).

I'll have to come back with some queer historical story recs! I plan to do a little post with a link to my own two fics of that genre, though I guess I can also post them in a comment if I don't get around to doing a separate post. :-)

[rosefox]

The second story's quite short and not particularly canon-dependent. All you need to know is that Petrova is butch and loves cars and airplanes, and comes from a very adventuresome family.

[sea_changed]

Some of my personal favorites:

Life Mask, by Emma Donoghue (late 18th century lesbians, see my review/rec here)
The Lord John series, by Diana Gabaldon (about a mid-18th century gay man, see my review/rec here)
The Society of Gentlemen series, by K.J. Charles (Regency m/m--romance novels, so ymmv, but well-written and compelling. They also feature a trans man, though only in a supporting role)

As far as books featuring trans or gnc characters, I've had less luck--there's Unmasked by the Marquess by Cat Sebastian (Regency, another romance novel--I found the emotional arc uncompelling but the gnc character portrayed well), and Confessions of the Fox by Jordy Rosenberg, which I'm reading now (early 18th century, main character is a trans man, incredible premise but I feel the execution is sorely lacking--though ymmv).

I also know of She Rises by Kate Worsley, which evidently features a lesbian character, though it hasn't made it to the top of my tbr yet. I also would be remiss if I didn't mention Golden Hill by Francis Spufford, whose gay characters are in only supporting, non-pov roles, but which is truly excellent.

[auroracloud]

Ooh, thanks for the recs - Life Mask sounds like something I really need to check out. I loved Emma Donoghue's Kissing the Witch, and I've read some of her non-fiction on historical lesbians, and Heather Rose Jones recently did a podcast episode on Anne Damer, and I'm interested in 18th century and artists in history, so there's clearly a lot I would love about this.

[sea_changed]

Wonderful--it really is worth a read. And I'll have to check out that podcast--I know Heather Rose Jones from twitter (and I've been meaning to read Alpennia for a while now), but I haven't listened to any of her podcasts yet.

Some wlw historical book recs

[ms_minerva]

Summit Avenue (pre-WWI Minnesota)

Letters in the Attic (1960s USA)

Patience and Sarah (colonial USA)

Anything by Sarah Waters (her only het book is The Little Stranger)