The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast

Women and Same-Sex Marriage in Western History (Reprise) The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 346 with Heather Rose Jones In this episode we talk about strategies for getting your historical protagonists hitched across the centuries. How the concepts of “women”, “same-sex”, and “marriage” are being defined for the purpose of this discussion Cultures that may have supported marriage between...

So You’re Writing a Sapphic Historical Romance: Questions to Consider (Reprise) The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 345 with Heather Rose Jones In this episode we talk about the questions to ask about sapphic relationships and how they are perceived in your story’s setting: How easy is it to live outside of the heterosexual marriage paradigm? What are the economic, legal, and religious co...

When Did We Become Lesbians? (Reprise) The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 344 with Heather Rose Jones In this episode we talk about: The history of words for women who loved women throughout recorded European history. What words were used? Where did they come from? What shades of meaning did they have? How did those meanings change over time? A transcript of this podcast is available her...

Salt for the Unmarried by Khayelihle Benghu The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 343 with Heather Rose Jones This quarter’s fiction episode presents Salt for the Unmarried by Khayelihle Benghu, 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 RS...

A Guide to the Sapphic Regency The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 342 with Heather Rose Jones In this episode we talk about: Demographics and economics affecting f/f couples Legal and religious considerations Friendship and romance Affection and sex The language of lesbianism Models of gender and sexuality Bibliography 18th Century Precursors Bennett, Judith M. & Amy M. Froide eds. 1...

On the Shelf for May 2026 The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 341 with Heather Rose Jones Your monthly roundup of history, news, and the field of sapphic historical fiction. In this episode we talk about: Say hi at GCLS Recent and upcoming publications covered on the blog Traub, Valerie. 1996. “The Perversion of ‘Lesbian’ Desire” in History Workshop Journal 41:19-49. Goode, Dawn M. 2008....

Mary/Charles Hamilton: The Original Female Husband The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 340 with Heather Rose Jones In this episode we talk about: The factual story of Mary/Charles Hamilton Henry Fielding’s fictional version in The Female Husband The larger historic and literary context Sources mentioned Baker, S. 1959. “Henry Fielding’s The Female Husband: Fact and Fiction” in PMLA, 74 pp...

On the Shelf for April 2026 The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 339 with Heather Rose Jones Your monthly roundup of history, news, and the field of sapphic historical fiction. In this episode we talk about: Exciting news about the next season of Bridgerton. The upcoming 10th anniversary Recent and upcoming publications covered on the blog Fielding, Henry. 1746. The Female Husband: or, the...

Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and the Invention of Lesbian Pirates The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 338 with Heather Rose Jones In this episode we talk about: Female pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read in the General History of the Pyrates The motif of “lesbian Bonny & Read” Bonny and Read in lesbian historical fiction Sources mentioned Wikipedia entry: Women in Piracy Women Pirates and the...

On the Shelf for March 2026 The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 337 with Heather Rose Jones Your monthly roundup of history, news, and the field of sapphic historical fiction. In this episode we talk about: Gentleman Jack (ballet) by the Northern Ballet Company Northern Ballet Company You Tube channel Recent and upcoming publications covered on the blog Mourão, Manuela. 1999. “The represe...

Aye, There’s the Rub The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 336 with Heather Rose Jones In this episode we talk about: Vocabulary for women-loving women referring to “rubbing” Shifts of meaning and usage What too many authors get wrong Sources mentioned: see transcript A transcript of this podcast is available here. Links to the Lesbian Historic Motif Project Online Website: http://alpennia....

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...

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 pod...

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...

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) Impe...

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 fi...

On the Shelf for December 2025 The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode # with Heather Rose Jones Your monthly roundup of history, news, and the field of sapphic historical fiction. In this episode we talk about: Accomplishments and upcoming milestones A podcast that listeners may be interested in: Our Dyke Histories Recent publications covered on the blog Levin-Richardson, Sarah. 2013. “Futut...

Ma’am, This is a Fruit Stand by Maya Dworsky-Rocha The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 329 with Heather Rose Jones This quarter’s fiction episode presents "Ma’am, This is a Fruit Stand" by Maya Dworsky-Rocha, narrated and music composition and performance by Heather Rose Jones. A transcript of this podcast is available here. Links to the Lesbian Historic Motif Project Online Website: http...

Christina Rosetti’s “The Goblin Market” (reprised) The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 328 with Heather Rose Jones This is an analysis and recitation of the poem “The Goblin Market” by Christina Rossetti, with special attention to its homoerotic themes. A transcript of this podcast is available here. Links to the Lesbian Historic Motif Project Online Website: http://alpennia.com/lhmp Blog...

On the Shelf for November 2025 The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 327 with Heather Rose Jones Your monthly roundup of history, news, and the field of sapphic historical fiction. In this episode we talk about: Setting up context for this month’s fiction episode Additions to the website Progress on the Lesbian Historic Motif Project book Recent and upcoming publications covered on the blog...

Speculative Fiction and Sapphic Plots The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 326 with Heather Rose Jones In this episode we talk about: Historic “speculative fiction” as a context for neutral depictions of sapphic characters 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:...

On the Shelf for October 2025 The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 325 with Heather Rose Jones Your monthly roundup of history, news, and the field of sapphic historical fiction. In this episode we talk about: Recent and upcoming publications covered on the blog Bray, Alan. 1996. Homosexuality in Renaissance England. Columbia University Press, New York. ISBN 9780231102896 Downing, Christin...

Emma Stebbins Exhibition Interview The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 324 with Heather Rose Jones In this episode we interview Heckscher Museum curator Karli Wurzelbacher about her upcoming exhibition of the work of American sculptor Emma Stebbins: Stebbins’ background and biography Genres that Stebbins worked in Technical process of creating sculptures Rome as a magnet for the internati...

On the Shelf for September 2025 The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 323 with Heather Rose Jones Your monthly roundup of history, news, and the field of sapphic historical fiction. In this episode we talk about: My new book: Skin-Singer: Tales of the Kaltaoven A Worldcon report Recent and upcoming publications covered on the blog Donoghue, Emma. 2007. “Doing Lesbian History, Then and Now”...

An Encounter With a Lady by Catherine Lundoff The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 322 with Heather Rose Jones This quarter’s fiction episode presents “An Encounter With a Lady” by Catherine Lundoff, 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/b...