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A show about queer women in history and historic literature, plus coverage of the field of sapphic historical fiction. Content note: May include discussions of sex within an academic context.
Episodes
Monday Sep 21, 2020
Monday Sep 21, 2020
On the Shelf for February 2018
The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 39 with Heather Rose Jones
Your monthly update on what the Lesbian Historic Motif Project has been doing.
In this episode we talk about:
- The fiction submission window is over
- Send us your upcoming release notices about lesbian historical fiction
- Lesbian Book Bingo
- https://jae-fiction.com/lesbian-book-bingo/
- My Lesbian Book Bingo stories http://alpennia.com/tags/lesbian-book-bingo
- A new queer history podcast: History is Gay podcast
- Email: historyisgaypodcast@gmail.com
- Twitter: @HistoryisGayPod
- Tumblr: historyisgaypodcast.tumblr.com
- Website: https://www.historyisgaypodcast.com
- Recent and upcoming publications covered on the blog
- Articles focused on linguistics
- Books on Charlotte Cushman
- Announcing this month’s author guest, Ellen Klages
- New and forthcoming fiction
- All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Through the Ages ed by Saundra Mitchell
- The Comfortable Courtesan: Being Memoirs by Clorinda Cathcart (that has been a Lady of the Town these several years) Vol 1 by L. A. Hall (See also the author’s website https://www.clorinda.org)
- Tremontaine - Season 3
- SHIELDMAIDEN BOOK 2: JEWEL OF FIRE by GL Roberts (Bella Books), Feb 2018
- Ask Sappho: Amy Herman-Pall asks, “I believe that your area of study and expertise is mostly European in nature, but I wonder if you know of any historical accounts of lesbians in other cultures, especially in Asia, or the Indian sub-continent?”
- Rupp, Leila J. 2009. Sapphistries: A Global History of Love Between Women. New York University Press, New York. ISBN 978-0-8147-7726-8
- Habib, Samar. 2009. Arabo-Islamic Texts on Female Homosexuality: 850-1780 A.D. Teneo Press, Youngstown. ISBN 978-1-934844-11-3
- Amer, Sahar. 2008. Crossing Borders: Love Between Women in Medieval French and Arabic Literatures.University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia. ISBN 978-0-8122-4087-0
- Vanita, Ruth. 2008. Same - Sex Love in India - A Literary history. Penguin Books, New York. ISBN 978-0143102069
- Vanita, Ruth and Saleem Kidwai, editors. 2001. Same-Sex Love in India: Readings in Indian Literature. Palgrave, New York. ISBN 978-0312293246
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
- Twitter: @heatherosejones
- Facebook: Heather Rose Jones (author page)
Sunday Sep 20, 2020
Sunday Sep 20, 2020
(Un)Conventional Women
The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 38
A discussion of the long and tangled history of the historic fact and literary motif of lesbians in convents.
In this episode we talk about:
- A brief history of Christian attitudes toward sex and Western beliefs about women’s sexuality
- Convent regulations that address women’s romantic and sexual bonds
- Case histories of sexual activity between nuns
- How the Reformation changed the attitude toward convents in Protestant societies
- The lesbian nun in pornography
- The lesbian nun as religious polemic
- The lesbian nun in modern society
This topic is discussed in one or more entries of the Lesbian Historic Motif Project here:
- monastic communities
- Casa della Zitelle
- Benedetta Carlini
- Hildegard of Bingen
- Tegernsee Manuscript
- Julie d’Aubigny
- The girl with no interest in marriage (Erasmus)
- Venus dans le Cloitre
- Upon Appleton House
- La Religieuse (Denis Diderot)
- Mademoiselle Giraud, My Wife (Adolphe Belot)
Other References mentioned
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
- Twitter: @heatherosejones
- Facebook: Heather Rose Jones (author page)
Sunday Sep 20, 2020
Sunday Sep 20, 2020
Book Appreciation with Kathleen Knowles
The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 37
In the Book Appreciation segments, our featured authors talks about her favorite books with queer female characters in a historic setting.
In this episode Kathleen recommends some favorite queer historical novels:
- The Persian Boy by Mary Renault (gay male fiction)
- The Friendly Young Ladies by Mary Renault (contemporary to when Renault write it in the ‘40s)
- The Locket and the Flintlock by Rebecca S. Buck
- Truths by Rebecca S. Buck
- Tyger, Tyger, Burning Bright by Justine Saracen
- The Witch of Stalingrad by Justine Saracen
A transcript of this podcast may be available here. (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
- Twitter: @heatherosejones
- Facebook: Heather Rose Jones (author page)
Links to Kathleen Knowles Online
- Website: Kathleen Knowles at Bold Strokes Books
- Twitter: @knowleskathy
- Facebook: Kathy Knowles
Sunday Sep 20, 2020
Sunday Sep 20, 2020
Interview with Kathleen Knowles
The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 36
A series of interviews with authors of historically-based fiction featuring queer women.
In this episode we talk about:
- Kathy’s interest in reading about the LGBT history of San Francisco
- Her favorite historians, including Lillian Faderman, Martin Duberman
- What inspired her three connected novels set in turn-of-the-century San Francisco, culminating with the Great Earthquake
- Historic eras Kathy would like to tackle in future books, including the US Suffragist movement, post-World War II San Francisco, and the Paris salon culture of the 1920s
- Books mentioned
A transcript of this podcast may be available here. (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
- Twitter: @heatherosejones
- Facebook: Heather Rose Jones (author page)
Links to Kathleen Knowles Online
- Website: Kathleen Knowles at Bold Strokes Books
- Twitter: @knowleskathy
- Facebook: Kathy Knowles
Sunday Sep 20, 2020
Sunday Sep 20, 2020
On the Shelf for January 2018
The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 35 with Heather Rose Jones
Your monthly update on what the Lesbian Historic Motif Project has been doing.
In this episode we talk about:
- Recent and upcoming publications covered on the blog
- The Lesbian Premodern
- Announcing this month’s author guest, Kathleen Knowles
- New and forthcoming fiction
- The new and forthcoming books segment starts next month. I swear.
- Ask Sappho: Nina, from The Lesbian Review facebook group, asks “Can anyone recommend older literature with subtle (or not so subtle) sapphic undertones? I just read Cousin Bette and really enjoyed the little lesbian romance going on between Valerie and Bette. Apparently the Victorian era had lots of these covert lesbian romance narratives, and I need more!”
- Literary Studies:
- Castle, Terry (ed). 2003. The Literature of Lesbianism: A Historical Anthology from Ariosto to Stonewall.Columbia University Press, New York. ISBN 0-231-12510-0
- Donoghue, Emma. 2010. Inseparable: Desire Between Women in Literature. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. ISBN 978-0-307-27094-8
- Faderman, Lillian. 1981. Surpassing the Love of Men. William Morrow and Company, Inc., New York. ISBN 0-688-00396-6
- Faderman, Lillian (ed). 1994. Chloe Plus Olivia: An Anthology of Lesbian and Bisexual Literature from the 17th Century to the Present. Viking, xx. ISBN 978-0-670-84638-4
- Foster, Jeannette. 1985. Sex Variant Women in Literature. The Naiad Press. ISBN 0-930044-65-7 Third edition of the original 1956 publication.
- Decadent Novels:
- de Balzac, Honoré. 1846. Cousin Bette. gutenberg.org, Librivox audiobook
- de Balzac, Honoré. 1833. The Girl with the Golden Eyes. gutenberg.org, Librivox audiobook
- Gautier, Théophile. 1835. Mademoiselle de Maupin. gutenberg.org
- LeFanu, Sheridan. 1872. Carmilla. gutenberg.org, Librivox audiobook
- Zola, Emile. 1880. Nana. gutenberg.org
- Novels of Romantic Friendship:
- Converse, Florence. 1897. Diana Victrix. gutenberg.org
- James, Henry. 1886. The Bostonians. gutenberg.org vol.1, gutenberg.org vol.2, Librivox audiobook
- Linton, Eliza Lynn. 1880. The Rebel of the Family. gutenberg.orgbook
- Scott, Sarah. 1762. A Description of Millennium Hall. gutenberg.orgbook
- Call for submissions for the 2018 LHMP audio short story series. See here for details.
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
- Twitter: @heatherosejones
- Facebook: Heather Rose Jones (author page)
Saturday Sep 19, 2020
Saturday Sep 19, 2020
2017 Roundup
The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 34
I take the opportunity for a year-end review of the Lesbian Historic Motif Project blog and podcast.
In this episode we talk about
- What inspired me to first start the blog
- How the podcast started and how it differs from the blog
- The podcast expansion and why I enjoy doing author interviews
- The upcoming fiction project
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
- Twitter: @heatherosejones
- Facebook: Heather Rose Jones (author page)
Saturday Sep 19, 2020
Saturday Sep 19, 2020
Death did not them Depart
The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 33
An examination of joint grave memorials for pairs of unrelated women that use the symbolism of marriage.
In this episode we talk about:
- Classical Greek sculptural monuments from 5th c. BCE Athens
- A Classical Roman memorial in which two women are shown clasping right hands, in a gesture typically indicating marriage
- The unusual joint memorial brass of Elizabeth Etchingham and Agnes Oxenbridge from the 15th century in East Sussex
- The 17th century grave memorial of Mary Barber of Suffolk, which gave equal prominence to her husband and her beloved friend Ann Chitting.
- The 18th century memorial of Mary Kendall in Westminster Cathedral commemorating her “close union and friendship” with Lady Catharine Jones and her wish that their ashes might lie together after death.
- The memorial dedication by Mary Pope for Katharine Bovey, commemorating their “near 40 years in perfect friendship”, and with additional information documenting their joint household for those 40 years and how Bovey was notorious for refusing marriage in favor of “the pleasures of friendship.”
Articles mentioned
- Bennett, Judith. 2008. “Two Women and their Monumental Brass, c. 1480” in Journal of the British Archaeological Association vol. 161:163-184.
- Bray, Alan. 2006. The Friend. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. ISBN 978-0-226-07181-7
- Brooten, Bernadette J. 1997. Love Between Women: Early Christian Responses to Female Homoeroticism. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. ISBN 0-226-07591-5
- Lanser, Susan S. 2014. The Sexuality of History: Modernity and the Sapphic, 1565-1830. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. ISBN 978-0-226-18773-0
- Traub, Valerie. 2002. The Renaissance of Lesbianism in Early Modern England. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. ISBN 0-521-44885-9
- Younger, John G. “Women in Relief: ‘Double Consciousness’ in Classical Attic Tombstones” in Rabinowitz, Nancy Sorkin & Lisa Auanger eds. 2002. Among Women: From the Homosocial to the Homoerotic in the Ancient World. University of Texas Press, Austin. ISBN 0-29-77113-4
- The Roman memorial stone of Eleusis and Helena can be viewed here.
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
- Twitter: @heatherosejones
- Facebook: Heather Rose Jones (author page)
Saturday Sep 19, 2020
Saturday Sep 19, 2020
Book Appreciation with T. T. Thomas
The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 32
In the Book Appreciation segments, our featured authors (or your host) will talk about one or more favorite books with queer female characters in a historic setting.
In this episode T. T. Thomas recommends some favorite queer historical novels:
- Miserere by Caren Werlinger
- In this Small Spot by Caren Werlinger - Note: this appears to be contemporary rather than historical.
- Neither Present Time by Caren Werlinger
- Temple Secrets by Susan Gabriel - Note: the lesbian content appears to be minor.
- True Luck Summer by Susan Gabriel - Note: it’s unclear whether this book has lesbian content
- The Secret Sense of Wildflower by Susan Gabriel - Note: this does not appear to be a lesbian novel.
- Occasions of Sin by Elena Graf
- A Small Country About to Vanish by Victoria Avalon
- And then we discuss the importance of historical fiction and what we think readers--especially lesfic readers--can find to enjoy in it.
A transcript of this podcast may be available here. (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
- Twitter: @heatherosejones
- Facebook: Heather Rose Jones (author page)
Links to T.T. Thomas Online
- Facebook: T.T. Thomas
Saturday Sep 19, 2020
Saturday Sep 19, 2020
Interview with T.T. Thomas
The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - episode 31
A series of interviews with authors of historically-based fiction featuring queer women.
In this episode we talk about:
- What T.T. finds so interesting about the decades around 1900
- Her fascination with the Regency-era figure of Anne Lister, whose diaries discuss her affairs with women in code
- Using professional journals, dictionaries, and court records for historic research
- Correspondence as a medium of storytelling
- How T.T.’s international family history inspired her settings
- The cross-country romantic odyssey of The Blondness of Honey from San Francisco to Chicago
- The story-within-a story of Vivien and Rose: when your characters start writing their own gothic romantic adventures
- Writing less common takes on sexuality
- Speaking of sex in code and metaphor, both in historic documents and fiction
- Mistress of Mogador and researching cultures very different from your own
- Books mentioned
- Whitbread, Helena ed. 1992. I Know My Own Heart: The Diaries of Anne Lister 1791-1840. New York University Press, New York. ISBN 0-8147-9249-9
- Whitbread, Helena ed. 1992. No Priest But Love. New York University Press, New York. ISBN 0-8147-5077-X
- Phyllida and the Brotherhood of Philander by Ann Herendeen (m/m/f historical romance)
- The Blondness of Honey by T.T. Thomas
- Vivien and Rose by T.T. Thomas
- A Delicate Refusal by T.T. Thomas
- Mistress of Mogador by T.T. Thomas
A transcript of this podcast may be available here. (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
- Twitter: @heatherosejones
- Facebook: Heather Rose Jones (author page)
Links to T.T. Thomas Online
- Facebook: T.T. Thomas
Saturday Sep 19, 2020
Saturday Sep 19, 2020
On the Shelf for December 2017
The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 30 with Heather Rose Jones
Your monthly update on what the Lesbian Historic Motif Project has been doing.
In this episode we talk about:
- Recent and upcoming publications covered on the blog
- Knighton’s Chronicle
- A joint grave memorial for two 15th century English women
- Thinking Sex with the Premoderns by Valerie Traub
- The Lesbian Premodern
- Announcing this month’s author guest, T. T. Thomas
- New and forthcoming fiction
- I really will be starting this segment soon.
- Ask Sappho: Lauri Wilson asks about the literary and real-life motif of cross-dressing women and how it changed over time. (And joins the show to talk about it.)
- Call for submissions for the new LHMP audio short story segment. See here for details.
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
- Twitter: @heatherosejones
- Facebook: Heather Rose Jones (author page)