October 21: Queer Historical Fiction + Book of the Week

LGBTQ+ folks have existed forever but historic oppression hasn’t always allowed queer people to live fully and authentically. This is also true of LGBTQ+ characters in published works through history and particularly within the historical fiction genre; often times, queer characters are left to the margins--cast in supporting roles (to entertain) or worse, treated as disposable (to meet an untimely end).

Shifts within the literary landscape have opened the door to joyful, positive queer historical fiction. As part of celebrating LGBTQ+ History Month, the CSW Library is featuring titles that prominently feature LGBTQ+ protagonists during specific time periods (and places!). These stories are paving new roads to allowing queer characters throughout history to live, struggle, and even thrive. Swing by the library’s magazine flats to explore the books on display this month and celebrate the joy that can exist in the pages of a good book.

LGBTQ+ History month is an annual month-long observance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history, and the history of the gay rights and related civil rights movements. It was founded in 1994 by Missouri high-school history teacher Rodney Wilson and is celebrated in the month of October. 

Check out the digital collection here. All of these titles are available for check out in the CSW Library. A reminder: all of our physical displays have a virtual presence, as well. 

Each week, the CSW Library highlights one title in our BOOK OF THE WEEK feature to help you choose (or not choose) your next read.

Jordan Baker grows up in the most rarefied circles of 1920s American society--she has money, education, a killer golf handicap, and invitations to some of the most exclusive parties of the Jazz Age. She's also queer and Asian, a Vietnamese adoptee treated as an exotic attraction by her peers, while the most important doors remain closed to her. But the world is full of wonders: infernal pacts and dazzling illusions, lost ghosts and elemental mysteries. Vo's debut novel reinvents a classic of the American canon--for fans of The Great Gatsby.

This book is available in our physical collection.

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