Although the words people use to identify themselves have evolved over time, LGBTQ+ people have always existed. Here are some wonderful works of historical fiction featuring LGBTQ+ characters from throughout history.
Cantoras
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Enduring the rampant violence against women and the LGBTQ community in the decades of the Uruguayan dictatorship, five women heartbreakingly unite as lovers, friends and family. By the award-winning author of The Invisible Mountain.
Enduring the rampant violence against women and the LGBTQ community in the decades of the Uruguayan dictatorship, five women heartbreakingly unite as lovers, friends and family. By the award-winning author of The Invisible Mountain.
Disco witches of Fire Island
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It's 1989, and Joe Agabian and his best friend Ronnie set out to spend their first summer working in the hedonistic gay paradise of Fire Island Pines. Joe is desperate to let loose and finally move beyond the heartbreak of having lost his boyfriend to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The two friends are quickly taken in by a pair of quirky, older house cleaners. But something seems off, and Joe starts to suspect the two older men of being up to something otherworldly. In truth, Howie and Lenny are members of a secret disco witch coven tasked with protecting the island--and young men like Joe--from the relentless tragedies ravaging their community.
It's 1989, and Joe Agabian and his best friend Ronnie set out to spend their first summer working in the hedonistic gay paradise of Fire Island Pines. Joe is desperate to let loose and finally move beyond the heartbreak of having lost his boyfriend to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The two friends are quickly taken in by a pair of quirky, older house cleaners. But something seems off, and Joe starts to suspect the two older men of being up to something otherworldly. In truth, Howie and Lenny are members of a secret disco witch coven tasked with protecting the island--and young men like Joe--from the relentless tragedies ravaging their community.
Empty theatre : or, the lives of King Ludwig II of Bavaria and Empress Sisi of Austria (Queen of Hungary), cousins, in their pursuit of connection and beauty despite the expectations placed on them because of the exceptional good fortune of their status as beloved national figures. With speculation into the mysterious nature of their deaths
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King Ludwig II of Bavaria and Empress Elizabeth of Austria share their passion for beauty and their struggle against the ideals they are expected to embody in a satirical novel from the author of False Bingo..
King Ludwig II of Bavaria and Empress Elizabeth of Austria share their passion for beauty and their struggle against the ideals they are expected to embody in a satirical novel from the author of False Bingo..
Fingersmith
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Growing up as a foster child among a family of thieves, orphan Sue Trinder hopes to pay back that kindness by playing a key role in a swindle scheme devised by their leader, Gentleman, who is planning to con a fortune out of the naive Maud Lily, but Sue's growing pity for their helpless victim could destroy the plot.
Growing up as a foster child among a family of thieves, orphan Sue Trinder hopes to pay back that kindness by playing a key role in a swindle scheme devised by their leader, Gentleman, who is planning to con a fortune out of the naive Maud Lily, but Sue's growing pity for their helpless victim could destroy the plot.
How much of these hills is gold
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Two orphaned Chinese immigrant siblings flee the threats of their gold rush mining town across an unforgiving landscape where their survival is tested by family secrets, sibling rivalry and disparate goals.
Two orphaned Chinese immigrant siblings flee the threats of their gold rush mining town across an unforgiving landscape where their survival is tested by family secrets, sibling rivalry and disparate goals.
The huntress
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Stranded behind enemy lines, brave bomber pilot Nina Markova becomes the prey of a lethal Nazi murderess known as the Huntress and joins forces with a Nazi hunter and British war correspondent to find her before she finds them.
Stranded behind enemy lines, brave bomber pilot Nina Markova becomes the prey of a lethal Nazi murderess known as the Huntress and joins forces with a Nazi hunter and British war correspondent to find her before she finds them.
Kaikeyi
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The only princess of the kingdom of Kekaya discovers she possesses magic when she revisits the ancient texts she used to read with her banished mother and transforms herself into a warrior to make a better world for other women.
The only princess of the kingdom of Kekaya discovers she possesses magic when she revisits the ancient texts she used to read with her banished mother and transforms herself into a warrior to make a better world for other women.
A lady for a duke
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Presumed dead, Viola Carroll takes the opportunity to live freely despite losing her wealth, title and closest companion, unaware of the shattering impact she had on her closest companion, in the new novel from the author of Boyfriend Material.
Presumed dead, Viola Carroll takes the opportunity to live freely despite losing her wealth, title and closest companion, unaware of the shattering impact she had on her closest companion, in the new novel from the author of Boyfriend Material.
Lavender House
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While investigating the mysterious death of matriarch Irene Lamontaine, head of a famous soap empire, Andy Mills is seduced by the safety and freedom found in Lavender House, where a queer family lives honestly and openly, until he becomes a pawn in their deadly game.
While investigating the mysterious death of matriarch Irene Lamontaine, head of a famous soap empire, Andy Mills is seduced by the safety and freedom found in Lavender House, where a queer family lives honestly and openly, until he becomes a pawn in their deadly game.
Mademoiselle revolution
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Fleeing from Haiti to Paris in 1791, Sylvie de Rosiers quickly becomes enamored with the aims of the Revolution, as well as with revolutionaries Robespierre and his mistress, Cornélie Duplay, and must decide whether to be an accomplice or risking losing her head as the Reign of Terror descends.
Fleeing from Haiti to Paris in 1791, Sylvie de Rosiers quickly becomes enamored with the aims of the Revolution, as well as with revolutionaries Robespierre and his mistress, Cornélie Duplay, and must decide whether to be an accomplice or risking losing her head as the Reign of Terror descends.
Nicked
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In 1087, when Tyun, a treasure hunter renowned for “liberating” holy relics from their tombs, is paid to bring the 700-year-old bones of Saint Nicholas to Bari, Italy, to cure the plague, Brother Nicephorus is ordered to be his guide and forced to commit an act of sacrilege on their journey.
In 1087, when Tyun, a treasure hunter renowned for “liberating” holy relics from their tombs, is paid to bring the 700-year-old bones of Saint Nicholas to Bari, Italy, to cure the plague, Brother Nicephorus is ordered to be his guide and forced to commit an act of sacrilege on their journey.
The prophets
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Two enslaved young men on a Deep South plantation find refuge in each other while transforming a quiet shed into a haven for their fellow slaves, before an enslaved preacher declares their bond sinful.
Two enslaved young men on a Deep South plantation find refuge in each other while transforming a quiet shed into a haven for their fellow slaves, before an enslaved preacher declares their bond sinful.
She who became the sun
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When the Zhu family's eighth-born son, Zhu Chongban, given the fate of greatness, dies during a brutal attack, his sister, escaping her own fated death, uses her brother's identity to claim another future altogether—her brother's abandoned greatness.
When the Zhu family's eighth-born son, Zhu Chongban, given the fate of greatness, dies during a brutal attack, his sister, escaping her own fated death, uses her brother's identity to claim another future altogether—her brother's abandoned greatness.
The Wildes : a novel in five acts
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Oscar Wilde, his wife, Constance, and their two sons deal with the aftermath of the famous playwright's imprisonment for homosexuality, told against the backdrop of Victorian England and World War I.
Oscar Wilde, his wife, Constance, and their two sons deal with the aftermath of the famous playwright's imprisonment for homosexuality, told against the backdrop of Victorian England and World War I.