fffriday | Entries tagged with genre: historical

Annick Trent is providing a free historical f/f novelette (really, it's short enough to be a short story) called Harvest Season for all e-readers!

Set in 1790s Gloucestershire, here's the provided summary:

"Lowri has spent the past month bringing in the harvest and daydreaming about her one-night stand with Eliza, barmaid at the Blue Boar. When the two women meet again, the spark between them is as strong as ever, but they cannot immediately act upon it: they must race against time to warn a group of weavers who face arrest for organising a strike."

For all it is very short, this has a great sense of place. The circumstances of the POV character are ones that I have not read about before, which makes it feel fresh and interesting. There's a little suspense, union organizing, some kissing, and a leap into the great unknown -- what's more to want!

el_staplador

Well, the title says it all, really. Lesbian novices in a mid-twentieth century convent, with a touch of magical realism to facilitate the romance. I liked the detail, and it was clearly well-researched.

With both title characters having chosen to enter the convent of their own volition and already aware of their sexual orientation, I wasn't convinced that the challenges of the vows ought to have been much of a surprise, and both came across as somewhat immature and irritating.

I'd recommend In This Small Spot (Caren J. Werlinger) as a more nuanced take on a similar setup, though that had some issues of its own.

blueshiftofdeath

This is the sequel to The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics, which I really enjoyed. It follows a new couple: a printer, Agatha (who appeared in the previous book), and a beekeeper, Penelope. Both are middle-aged and more experienced than the characters in The Lady's Guide, which I found refreshing and the primary draw of the story.

There's some political side plots, but they feel kind of irrelevant for most of the book; I thought the book probably could have been a little tighter. Like the previous book, where there was a lot of focus on astronomy and embroidery, there's a lot of focus on printing and beekeeping. I liked that, and the way that it's tied to the other going-ons in the story, although I think they didn't work as strongly on their own as the astronomy/embroidery plots in the previous book.

Overall this was a slow but enjoyable read for me, and I particularly loved the ending. I'm looking forward to the next entry in the series. :-)

el_staplador

Short version: an excellent take on Anne de Bourgh from Pride and Prejudice with a couple of research failures which probably won't bother you unless you're British, and possibly not then.

Long version: Anne's notorious 'delicacy' is actually due to laudanum use and addiction, prescribed by the family doctor and a tempting tool for her mother. She runs away to London and... well, I'm posting in this community. The other half of the pairing is an original character, who I found very well-drawn and a good foil to Anne.

I was thrown out by some Britpicking errors (Brighton beach: not sandy, as anyone who's had seagulls steal their chips there can tell you) and was irritated by Anne finding the Book of Common Prayer dull despite having read it through severa times (nobody does this! and there are plenty of bits that aren't dull at all) but these were really quite small matters compared to the book as a whole. Overall, I'd recommend it.

el_staplador

This was a really intriguing premise - a researcher sets out to discover the identity and story of two women whose frozen bodies are discovered on Mont Blanc 90 years after their disappearance. They're established quite early on to have been a couple and the narrator identifies (over-identifies?) with them and their struggle to be taken seriously in a man's world.

Unfortunately, it didn't work for me as it stood. Despite a valiant effort by the narrator, I never got far enough into the climbers' heads to be able to see their attempt - unassisted, with unconvincing preparation, and in uncertain weather - as heroic rather than foolhardy. (And that in itself made me doubt the historian's credentials...)

It also had the issue I've noticed in a few historical novels recently: a failure to mix in the (obviously thorough) research sufficiently, resulting in an unconvincing portrayal of the past which had one of the women explaining the recent developments of the suffrage movement in a love letter.

I think I'd either have preferred it twice the length, with room to dig into both couples' stories and personalities, or as a pure historical, removing the distance between Ruth and Cat and their objective. And either way, it needed a more thorough edit than it got.

el_staplador

I gulped the Harwood Spellbook series down last week. This is a light fantasy set in an alternate universe nineteenth century Britain, one in which Boudicca successfully repelled the Roman invaders. Getting on for two millennia later, society is modelled after her marriage: women are the leaders, and men, magicians, play a supporting role. There's also an uneasy relationship with Elfland. I found the whole series delightful, just the thing for a chilly January.

I'm only talking about Moontangled here, but I'd recommend reading the other books in the series alongside it. The f/f relationship which is central to this book also appears in all but one of the others.

( Very mildly spoilery ) As with other books in the series, I'd have liked to see more of the world: this was a glimpse of a magical version of What Katy Did At School, and I'd happily have read an entire novel's worth.

I've been watching a lot of winter sports lately (biathlon and Alpine skiing, mostly) and went off to buy Edge of Glory (Rachel Spangler) very soon after learning about its existence and its premise. Which is: Alpine skier returning from a serious injury is convinced to lighten up by a snowboarder approaching the end of her career. Both have their eyes on the upcoming Winter Olympics...

I appreciated the focus that both Elise (skier) and Corey (snowboarder) had on their respective sports. Both take them extremely seriously, and both were convincing as (existing or potential) champions. At the same time, the focus on athletic excellence provided a natural source of tension around their developing relationship without any need for manufactured conflict.

One thing that didn't ring quite true for me was Elise's lack of interest in her rivals, given her determination to make the Olympic team. The portrait of a withdrawn, defensive, athlete was convincing, but it seemed implausible that she wouldn't at least have been keeping an eye on the competition, if only to know what sort of time she had to beat.

My other nitpick was the final misunderstanding and resolution. While this was set up very plausibly, and the dialogue was OK, I didn't quite buy it on an emotional level.

But overall I very much enjoyed this book. Elise and Corey are both engaging characters in their very different ways, and the supporting cast is great too. I really enjoyed the camaraderie around the snowboard team, and the way that Corey took a younger snowboarder under her wing rather than resenting a rising star was a very pleasant surprise, setting the tone for the rest of the book.

el_staplador

Framed with the narrator's trial for murder of Mr and Mme Benham, her employers, this novel follows the life of Frances Langton, from her childhood as a slave in the Caribbean to her undesired career as a domestic servant in London, and her love affair with Mme Benham.

Well, this was staggeringly good. It combined a critique of the dynamics of slavery and post-slavery with a good old-fashioned sensation novel, and kept me intrigued and guessing all the way to the (sad but satisfying) end.

If I had to nitpick, I'd say that there were about twice as many overcreative similes as they needed to be, but otherwise the prose was great.

I also reread Paper Love (Jae) because I needed something easy and comforting and set on the Continent.

el_staplador

Well, having been put off this one by the rather arch title, and attracted to it by positive reviews from various places, I eventually picked it up when I visited Gay's The Word in August.

This is a romance between a young astronomer and a countess ten years her senior. Lucy Muchelney has been trained by her father, who at the opening of the book is recently deceased. Catherine St. Day is widowed, a patron of science both depended upon and condescended to by the scientific society to which her husband belonged. Lucy presents herself as a candidate to translate an influential work by a French astronomer, and matters go on from there.

The romance is gentle and tender. Both partners have been hurt before but both are prepared to move past that. There's room for assumptions and misunderstandings, and room to correct them. The sex is frank, uncomplicated, and enjoyed (no mention of 'sin' or 'sinful', a particular pet peeve of mine when it comes to romance).

There is, as might be expected, a very strong feminist message, which worked by positioning Lucy as one of many women scientists facing systemic prejudice and exclusion, not 'the first one ever'. I assume that all the names mentioned were fictional; I did enjoy a shout-out to 'a young woman down the coast' who found a 'lizard skeleton'.

If I'm being picky, there were a few places where the period detail was off (for example, the scene where Lucy visits one of the gentlemen of the Society unchaperoned), and rather too much use of 'the countess', 'the astronomer', 'the younger woman', etc - but overall this is an enjoyable, readable romance.

el_staplador

Proper English is a historical (1900s) romance-cum-murder mystery, the prequel to Charles' m/m thriller/romance Think of England. I read both back to back, and found that Proper English sat rather less comfortably within its secondary genre than Think of England did. However, it was still a pleasing romance with a very engaging central couple. The point of view character, an excellent shot, has been invited to join a shooting party in Scotland - and finds herself far more interested in her host's fiancée than he seems to be.

( Spoilers )

cesy

It's been recommended here before but I want to mention it again - Heather Rose Jones's Alpennia series is delightful historical fantasy of just the right amount of fluff and wish-fulfilment for me this year. Worth giving it a try if you're in the mood for something fun and happy.

sophia_sol

Just realized I've been forgetting to let you folks know about the f/f book reviews I've written in the....year since I last posted here, whoops. Here's links to my reviews, along with a brief description of each!

1. A Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics, by Olivia Waite - Absolutely delightful historical romance featuring one woman who's a scientist and one who's an artist.

2. The Wolf and the Girl, by Aster Glenn Gray - The ending is ambiguous about whether it ships the two women or not but I think it falls under the spirit of this community. Historical fantasy featuring the early silent film industry and werewolves. Lovely.

3. In the Vanishers' Palace, by Aliette de Bodard - A Beauty & the Beast inspired novella. The worldbuilding is compelling, but the romance doesn't quite work for me personally.

4. Gideon the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir - Okay everyone's already heard about the lesbian necromancers, right? Anyway it's great as advertised, though a bit too far in the horror direction for me to be really happy with personally.

5. Catfishing on Catnet, by Naomi Kritzer - YA novel featuring lots of queer characters as well beyond the f/f relationship. Also a major character is an AI! Fun.

6. A Memory Called Empire, by Arkady Martine - far-future SF, my favourite book I read last year, completely brilliant and riveting.

7. Once Ghosted, Twice Shy, by Alyssa Cole - modern romance novel, I liked the characters but the romance arc doesn't work for me personally.

8. The True Queen, by Zen Cho - historical fantasy, absolutely delightful.

el_staplador

This is an eclectic collection, containing several short stories, a couple of extracts from full-length novels, and the full text of J. Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla. There are all sorts of vampires, from the merely misunderstood to the out and out evil; the settings range from Countess Báthory's Hungary to outer space, via nineteenth century Louisiana; the styles are equally eclectic. I wasn't convinced about the inclusion of novel extracts, which felt a bit unsatisfying to me (while still not really motivating me to go out and find the books).

But overall this was an interesting sampler, and I particularly enjoyed Pam Keesey's introduction, where she gives an overview of the lesbian vampire genre on the page and and the screen. It would be interesting to see an updated edition: this book is getting on for three decades old now, and my assumption (possibly incorrect) is that there would be quite a lot more to add.

el_staplador

Actually, two and a half. Nitpicky reviews follow:

Outlaw was a free download from Niamh Murphy's site (which currently isn't loading for me). It's a retelling of the Robin Hood legend with a female Robin. Or, this case, Robyn. I could just about buy the idea of 'Robyn of Loxley' being an example of the Tiffany Problem, medieval spelling and all that, but I think I'd have preferred 'Roberta' or something. However, this was only one of a number of details that felt off - others included inappropriate use and conjugation of the second person singular, along with some questionable accent/dialect choices, and the statement that Robyn had fasted on saints' days - all of which threw me out of the action from time to time.

The action establishes the outlaw set-up and introduces Robyn, Marian, and Little John. It's very much the first in a series, and the f/f content is very slight - no doubt there'll be more in later books.

The Midnight Couch by Jae was another free download. This was a pretty straightforward contemporary story, in which the protagonist is a radio technician with a crush on the station's resident agony aunt. Fairly predictable, but none the less sweet.

DNF The Girl With Two Hearts (T. T. Thomas), which I think was going to be a historical fantasy. I find that the author did do the research as far as royal use of Gosport went, but the dialogue was very clunky and unconvincing, there was only the haziest idea of even fin-de-siècle mores (I can believe the heroine wears make-up by way of a disguise - I can't believe her sister approves of it and then introduces her to their brother as a 'theatre friend'!), and I gave up when the Victorian motorcycle gang showed up.

el_staplador

A historical novel with two layers: the narrator, Livvie, goes to New York in the 1980s to find a job and the lesbian scene. The job puts her in contact with Clio Hartt, a giant of the lesbian literary coterie in 1930s Paris and author of The Dismantled, but now living alone in a Greenwich Village apartment.

The Dismantled is a classic, but Clio has published nothing since. Livvie's job is to try to get Clio writing again, which seems to lead inevitably into digging into her past to find out why she stopped writing in the first place. I enjoyed (and occasionally cringed) Livvie's attempts to find out, but the big twist behind this felt a bit like a fuss about nothing to me. I couldn't quite buy it on an emotional level.

Livvie's relationship drama tended to come second to her investigation of Clio's past. This worked for me, if only because I wasn't massively invested in it, and I rather liked the low-key way in which it played out.

I enjoyed the evocation of 1980s New York, and the contrast with Livvie's Southern background. My own preference would have been for a little more inter-war Paris, though that's purely personal, and the structure worked well as it was.

There was some period-typical but narratively unnecessary biphobia, and also some kink-shaming (pretty mild kink, at that) which again felt gratuitous.

I ought to have loved this one, dealing as it does with settings that I find fascinating, but overall it fell a bit flat for me.

mllelaurel

After the events of The Tempest, Miranda finds herself trapped within Prospero's holdings in Milan, instead of leaving for Naples with Ferdinand. She's viewed with suspicion by the Milanese locals, who distrust the domineering Prospero and refuse to tell Miranda anything about her mysterious mother. While trying to break free and unravel the secrets of her past, Miranda befriends and falls for a young witch named Dorothea.

Sounds like an awesome concept, right? My verdict? It was okay.

Mostly, I found the writing and plotting very...utilitarian. Duckett handled the main plot reasonably well and at a good pace, but the base concept left me wanting specific things from this book, and I was left unfulfilled.

For instance: I was hoping for lush setting details. That's part of the fun in a fantasy historical. Instead, Miranda can't go anywhere, the people are taciturn, and the setting remains gothically-generic. Even a masked ball didn't alleviate this, as Miranda immediately got pulled away from it.

Similarly, Dorothea's family is originally from Marrakech, and she feels like life in Italy is stripping her of her identity. I kept hoping we'd get some details of this identity. The taste of a sweet she misses, the kind of clothing she used to wear or poetry she used to read, but aside from her real name, we don't get any of that.

( Some More Examples, Cut for Spoilers )

You all starting to see what I mean? Perhaps I'm being a bit unfair, but the concept does invite wanting more.

On the positive end of things, Miranda is a good, fully-realized character. I wanted her to learn more and gain autonomy, and she did.

Dorothea, as a character, is... okay. She's not precisely a cypher, but I can tell when Duckett uses her as a mouthpiece at least once, and it shoots immersion all to hell. The romance is... okay. Moves too fast. I believe in them as friends, less as lovers.

Which leads me to another point. I really, really don't want to be that person, but Dorothea's fast seduction of Miranda left me a little squicked, seeing as how Miranda literally didn't know what sex was beforehand. Don't get me wrong, everything's consensual, and Miranda's super happy about it afterward, but I still wrinkled my nose a little. This could have been fixed so easily: Dorothea gossips about sex and women sleeping together; Miranda is intrigued instead of disturbed. There. Problem solved, while also giving them more bonding and banter time.

...Huh. Typing this out made me realize I was more frustrated with this book than I thought. There are some cool twists, though, and the cover is lovely! I realize that a lot of the problems I had boil down to it being a novella, but I think it's possible to pick a very few details and make a story come to life, while keeping it short. I also think this story wanted to be a longer novella, if not a novel.

sea_changed

I've not yet seen these posted to the community, so in case anyone remains unaware: there's a film based on the life of Anne Lister, early 19th century diarist who left a record of her lesbian affairs, airing on HBO April 22, and on BBC1 at some point in the near future. I'm extraordinarily excited about it, and dearly hope it lives up to its promise.

HBO trailer:

"Gentleman Jack (2019) | Official Trailer | HBO" (Watch on YouTube)

BBC trailer:

"Gentleman Jack: OFFICIAL TRAILER - BBC" (Watch on YouTube)

sophia_sol

Oh hey, without intending to I posted an f/f book review on a Friday! So I should let you folks know about it! It's a lesbian romance between seniors, set in the Victorian era, and my review can be found here

ursula

hrj has a call for submissions for fiction submissions to the Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast. This is for short fiction set before 1900, and pays professional rates ($0.06/word).

sea_changed

I finally had a chance to see The Favourite, the wonderfully off-beat Queen Anne movie featuring her lesbian affairs. I loved it; my review, with only the mildest of spoilers, is here.