The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast

On the Shelf for February 2026
The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 335 with Heather Rose Jones
Your monthly roundup of history, news, and the field of sapphic historical fiction.

In this episode we talk about:

The 2026 fiction line-up:
“Between One Word and the Next” by L.J. Lee

“Love for Love’s Sake” by Shannon Lippert

“Salt for the Unmarried” by Khayelihle Benghu

The Sultan’s Vetala by Priya Sridhar

The Tale of Gudrun Sigurdsdóttir by Daniel Stride

Recent and upcoming publications covered on the blog
Reay, Barry. 2009. “Writing the Modern Histories of Homosexual England” in The Historical Journal, 52, 1. pp.213-233

Crannell, Marissa. 2015. Utterly Confused Categories: Gender Non-Conformity in Late Medieval and Early Modern Western Europe. Dissertation.

Mara-McKay, Nico. 2018. “Becoming Gendered: Two Medieval Approaches to Intersex Gender Assignment” in Prandium: The Journal of Historical Studies vol. 7, no. 1.

Roelens, Jonas. 2017. “A Woman Like Any Other: Female Sodomy, Hermaphroditism, and Witchcraft in Seventeenth-Century Bruges” in Journal of Women’s History, vol. 29 no. 4, Winter 2017. pp.11-34

Loveday, Kiki. “Sister Acts: Victorian Porn, Lesbian Drag, and Queer Reproduction” in Framework: The Journal of Cinema and Media, vol. 60, no. 2, 2019, pp. 201–26.

Larson, Ruth. 1997. “Sex and Civility in a 17th-Century Dialogue: L’Escole des filles” in Papers on French Seventeenth-Century Literature, no. 47: 497-514.

Rivers, Christopher. 1995. “Safe Sex: The Prophylactic Walls of the Cloister in the French Libertine Convent Novel of the Eighteenth Century” in Journal of the History of Sexuality, Vol. 5, No. 3: 381-402

Book Shopping
Wurzelbacher, Karli. 2025. Emma Stebbins: Carving Out History. Huntington: The Heckscher Museum of Art. ISBN 979-8-9925162-1-0

Lodge, Sara. 2024. The Mysterious Case of the Victorian Female Detective. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-28660-1

Boyd, Rebecca. 2024. Exploring Ireland's Viking-Age Towns. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-03-259109-4

Recent Lesbian/Sapphic Historical Fiction
Hawthorn & Bitter by Shannon K. Kelly

Cut on the Bias by Susanna Bonaretti

Before the Swallow Dares by Hannah Perrin-Haynes

The Stillness Between Us (Voices of the Hive Trilogy) by Clara Bellweather

The Language of Bees (Voices of the Hive Trilogy) by Clara Bellweather

The Keeper of Tides (Voices of the Hive Trilogy) by Clara Bellweather

The Language of Leaves (The Silent Companions) by Clara Bellweather

The Marginal Truth (The Silent Companions) by Clara Bellweather

The Stitched Confession (The Silent Companions) by Clara Bellweather

Fire Sword and Sea by Vanessa Riley

Sword and Silk: The Legend of Julie d'Aubigny by Maeve Campbell

La Maupin : The Scandalous Story of Julie d'Aubigny by C.C. Parke

The Black Lark's Oath by Tess Wilder

Embers on the Moor by Giada Moretti

Unfinished Story by Jade Winters

The Midnight Daughters by Aeressa

The Hidden Petition (Beacon Hill Mysteries #1) by Maeve McQueen

The House of Hidden Hearts by Matus Zelenay

E.V. Bancroft by E.V. Bancroft

A Very Hamble Christmas by E.V. Bancroft

Star & Thea at Court by A V Kakkad

The Hidden Flower in the Palace: A Queer Court Tragedy by Shin Hwayoon

She-Wolf: A Sapphic Beowulf Retelling by E.K. O'Connor

The Fifth Day of Her Heart by Richard Cicay

The Found Family Victory (Salvation's Edge #1) by Lady K

Belonging to the Air by Avery Irons

Joe the Pirate by Hubert

A Slow and Secret Poison by Carmella Lowkis

What I’ve been consuming
Dead Dead Girls by Nekesa Afia

A transcript of this podcast is available here. (Interview transcripts added when available.)

Links to the Lesbian Historic Motif Project Online

Website: http://alpennia.com/lhmp

Blog: http://alpennia.com/blog

RSS: http://alpennia.com/blog/feed/

Twitter: @LesbianMotif

Discord: Contact Heather for an invitation to the Alpennia/LHMP Discord server

The Lesbian Historic Motif Project Patreon

Links to Heather Online

Website: http://alpennia.com

Email: Heather Rose Jones

Mastodon: @[email protected]

Bluesky: @heatherrosejones

Facebook: Heather Rose Jones (author page)

Fiction Double-Header: Down By the Tumbling Stream by E C Hallewell & Where You Go by Jennifer Nestojko
The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 334 with Heather Rose Jones
This quarter’s fiction episode presents two stories:

"Down By the Tumbling Stream" EC Hallewell, narrated by Heather Rose Jones.

"Where You Go" Jennifer Nestojko, narrated by Heather Rose Jones.

A transcript of this podcast is available here.

Links to the Lesbian Historic Motif Project Online

Website: http://alpennia.com/lhmp

Blog: http://alpennia.com/blog

RSS: http://alpennia.com/blog/feed/

Twitter: @LesbianMotif

Discord: Contact Heather for an invitation to the Alpennia/LHMP Discord server

The Lesbian Historic Motif Project Patreon

Links to Heather Online

Website: http://alpennia.com

Email: Heather Rose Jones

Mastodon: @[email protected]

Bluesky: @heatherrosejones

Facebook: Heather Rose Jones (author page)

Links to EC Hallewell Online

Bluesky: @echallewell.bsky.social

Our F/Favorite Tropes Part 19: Age Gap
The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 333 with Heather Rose Jones
In this episode we talk about:

The historic and social context of age-differentiated pairings of various genders

Why the “age gap” trope tends to be restricted to f/f romance

Historic contexts for age-gap relationships

A transcript of this podcast is available here.

Links to the Lesbian Historic Motif Project Online

Website: http://alpennia.com/lhmp

Blog: http://alpennia.com/blog

RSS: http://alpennia.com/blog/feed/

Twitter: @LesbianMotif

Discord: Contact Heather for an invitation to the Alpennia/LHMP Discord server

The Lesbian Historic Motif Project Patreon

Links to Heather Online

Website: http://alpennia.com

Email: Heather Rose Jones

Mastodon: @[email protected]

Bluesky: @heatherrosejones

Facebook: Heather Rose Jones (author page)

On the Shelf for January 2026
The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 332 with Heather Rose Jones
Your monthly roundup of history, news, and the field of sapphic historical fiction.

In this episode we talk about:

Summary of the Project in 2025

Recent and upcoming publications covered on the blog
Xie, Wenjuan. 2015. (Trans)Culturally Transgendered: Reading Transgender Narratives in (Late) Imperial China. Dissertation.

Sommer, Matthew H. “Was China Part of a Global Eighteenth-Century Homosexuality?” in Historical Reflections / Réflexions Historiques, vol. 33, no. 1, 2007, pp. 117–33.

Carton, Adrian. 2006. “Desire and Same-Sex Intimacies in Asia” in Gay Life and Culture, A World History, ed. Robert Aldrich. Universe Publishing, New York. ISBN 978-0-7893-1511-3

Gowing, Laura. 2006. ”Lesbians and Their Like in Early Modern Europe, 1500-1800” in Gay Life and Culture: A World History ed. Robert Aldrich. London: Thames and Hudson. 125-43

Rupp, Leila J. 2001. “Toward a Global History of Same-Sex Sexuality” in Journal of the History of Sexuality, Vol. 10, No. 2: 287-302

Leupp, Gary P. 2007. “Capitalism and Homosexuality in Eighteenth-Century Japan.” in Historical Reflections / Réflexions Historiques, vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 135–52.

Pflugfelder, Gregory M. 1992. “Strange Fates: Sex, Gender, and Sexuality in Torikaebaya Monogatari” in Monumenta Nipponica Vol. 47, No. 3 (Autumn, 1992), pp. 347-368.

Shah, Shalini. 1991. “Women and Sexuality in the Mahabharata” in Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 52: 138-144.

Srivastava, Manjari & Manjari Shrivastava. 2007. “Lesbianism in Nineteenth Century Erotic Urdu Poetry “Rekhti”” in Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 68, Part One: 965-988

Book Shopping
The Mysterious Case of the Victorian Female Detective by Sara Lodge

Recent Lesbian/Sapphic Historical Fiction
Dreadful Sorry, Clemintine (Clementine #2) by Genta Sebastian

Steel on Distance by N.J. Knox

A Djinn and Tonic (The Magical Underground #2) by Nan Sampson

Gold and Grace by Eline Evans

Like in Love with You by Emma R. Alban

The Debutante Dilemma by author

The Case of the Murdered Muckraker (Harriot Morrow Investigates #2) by Rob Osler

What I’ve been consuming
The Case of the Missing Maid by Rob Osler

Saint-Seducing Gold by Brittany N. William

A Plague on Both Your Houses by Susanna Gregory

Earl Crush by Alexandra Vasti

Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite

Emma: The Nature of a Lady by Kate Christie

The Scandal at Pemberley by Mara Brooks

The Shocking Experiments of Miss Mary Bennet by Melinda Taub

The Lady’s Wager by Olivia Hampton

Call for submissions for the 2026 LHMP audio short story series. See here for details.

This month we interview M.K. Hardy and talk about:
Needfire by MK Hardy (US availability is limited)

MK Hardy is a nom de plume for Morag Hannah and Erin Hardee

Adapting the gothic template for sapphic stories

Why Scotland is the perfect setting for gothics

The benefits and complications of writing as a team

Forthcoming: The Haunting of Avis Lovelock

A transcript of this podcast is available here. (Interview transcripts added when available.)

Links to the Lesbian Historic Motif Project Online

Website: http://alpennia.com/lhmp

Blog: http://alpennia.com/blog

RSS: http://alpennia.com/blog/feed/

Twitter: @LesbianMotif

Discord: Contact Heather for an invitation to the Alpennia/LHMP Discord server

The Lesbian Historic Motif Project Patreon

Links to Heather Online

Website: http://alpennia.com

Email: Heather Rose Jones

Mastodon: @[email protected]

Bluesky: @heatherrosejones

Facebook: Heather Rose Jones (author page)

Links to MK Hardy Online

Website: https://www.mkhardywrites.com/

Twitter: @mkhardywrites

Instagram: @mkhardywrites

Bluesky: @mkhardywrites.com

Jane Austen Birthday Celebration
The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 331 with Heather Rose Jones
In this episode we talk about:

The social structures in Jane Austen’s novels in which same-sex relationships could develop

A tour through the sapphic potential in each of Austen’s works

A survey of Austen-inspired sapphic historical fiction, demonstrating some of that potential

Austen-based fiction mentioned in the episode

”Margaret” by Eleanor Musgrove in A Certain Persuasion (The LHMP audio version can be found here. After this podcast was recorded, the author has also made the story available as an ebook stand-alone.)

”Eleanor and Ada” by Julie Bozza in A Certain Persuasion (Not currently in print? The link is to the author’s website.)

Lucas by Elna Holst

Gay Pride and Prejudice by Kate Christie

The Heiress: The Revelations of Anne de Bourgh by Molly Greeley

”Father Doesn’t Dance” by Eleanor Musgrove in A Certain Persuasion (Not currently in print.)

Frederica and the Viscountess by Barbara Davies

Her Particular Friend by J.L. Merrow in A Certain Persuasion (Link is to a stand-alone reprint of the story.)

Kissing Emma by Gemma Harborne (out of print)

“One Half of the World” by Adam Fitzroy in A Certain Persuasion (Not currently in print?)

A Certain Persuasion: Modern LGBTQ+ fiction inspired by Jane Austen’s novels edited by Julie Bozza. Manifold Press, 2016. (Unfortunately Manifold Press has gone out of business. Used hard copies may be available at this link. Stories that have been made available in other venues have links in the individual listings.

Books new to this updated version of the episode

The Unlikely Pursuit of Mary Bennet by Lindz McLeod

Interview with Lindz McLeod

The Miseducation of Caroline Bingley by Lindz McLeod

The Scandal at Pemberley by Mara Brooks

The Lady's Wager by Olivia Hampton

The Shocking Experiments of Miss Mary Bennet by Melinda Taub

The Unruly Heart of Miss Darcy by Erin Edwards

Kitty (The Bennet Sisters #1) by T.J. Ryan

Emma: A Secret Lesbian by Garnet Marriott (out of print)

Emma: Restraint and Presumption by Garnet Marriott (out of print)

Sanditon: The Lesbian Solution by Garnet Marriott (out of print)

Emma: The Nature of a Lady by Kate Christie

I Shall Never Fall in Love by Hari Connor

A transcript of this podcast is available here. (Interview transcripts added when available.)

Links to the Lesbian Historic Motif Project Online

Website: http://alpennia.com/lhmp

Blog: http://alpennia.com/blog

RSS: http://alpennia.com/blog/feed/

Twitter: @LesbianMotif

Discord: Contact Heather for an invitation to the Alpennia/LHMP Discord server

The Lesbian Historic Motif Project Patreon

Links to Heather Online

Website: http://alpennia.com

Email: Heather Rose Jones

Mastodon: @[email protected]

Bluesky: @heatherrosejones

Facebook: Heather Rose Jones (author page)