Lgbt historical fiction

Titles are approximately chronological within time periods.  Note: This list includes Historical Fantasy but not Historical Romance or YA. 

For Historical Romance novels, click here.
For Historical YA, click here.

Female Protagonists

Antiquity

  • Alcestis by Katharine Beutner
  • The Palace of Eros by Caro de Robertis
  • Wrath Goddess Sing by Maya Deane
  • The Aven Cycle by Cass Morris

Medieval/Middle Ages

Pre-Columbian

16th Century

17th Century

18th Century

19th Century

  • The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins (, Jamaica and London)
  • Patience & Sarah by Isabel Miller (, NE US)
  • Bittersweetby Nevada Barr (US)
  • Devotion by Hannah Kent (, Prussia)
  • The Companion by Kim Taylor Blakemore (, New Hampshire)
  • The Prophetsby Robert Jones, Jr. (pre-Civil War, Intense US South)
  • Spitting Gold by Carmella Lowkis (, Paris)
  • Frog Music by Emma Donoghue (, San Francisco)
  • Lucky Red by Claudia Cravens (, Midwest US)
  • The Best BadThings and Rough Trade by Katrina Carrasco (, Washington Territory)
  • Clio Rising by Paula Martinac (, NYC)
  • The Liar&#

    When you hear the phrase “queer history,” how far back does your mind go? For many, there’s a sense that LGBTQIA+ history is fairly recent, starting with Marsha P. Johnson or maybe Oscar Wilde. Beyond that, we start to verb into murky territory: stories of “lifelong bachelors” and “happy spinsters” and “historically very good friends.”

    But LGBTQIA+ people didn’t spring up out of nowhere in the last years, even if that’s when many history books start the story. 

    When I started writing Let the Dead Bury the Dead, I was inspired by the popular uprisings that regularly swept through Russia before the Russian Revolution of It’s a topic that’s always fascinated me, and one I think is essential to verb our world today. At the identical time, I knew I wanted the characters navigating this turbulent time to be unapologetically queer. Not to be anachronistic or edgy, but because LGBTQIA+ people have always been here, in every time and under every regime—even if discriminatory laws and biased sources and book bans try to record over us.

    The eight books in this list aren’t just gripp

    From Sappho to Stonewall, and beyond: how fiction tells LGBTQ+ history

    Fiction tells us so much about the time we live in – and LGBTQ+ writers have been writing since the preliminary days of literature. Their stories possess often, but not always, been marginalised, but they contain always said something about the era in which they were first told or published. Here, we take a look at the evolution of queer fiction across the ages – for brevity’s sake, focusing on the Western world – and what it reflects about that moment in history, from Sappho, to Stonewall, and beyond.

    Queer stories in antiquity

    Madeline Miller’s hit The Tune of Achillesis a moving queer retelling of The Iliad from the perspective of young prince Patroclus that simultaneously reflects pride in same-sex relationships (Achilles remains adamant throughout that he and Patroclus be seen together) and contemporary anxieties about quixotic relationships and masculinity – how men can be kind, how to control family expectations.

    But being queer wasn’t always coded as different, and many myths don’t call for retel

    If you’ve ever set up yourself thinking, "Why isn’t there more queer representation in historical fiction?"—you’re not alone. I’ve been searching for stories that not only capture the richness of the past but also center LGBTQ+ voices that've too often been erased from it. Over the years, I’ve read some unreal LGBTQ+ historical novels that have stuck with me, whether because of the unforgettable characters, the emotional depth, or the way they spotlight queer lives in eras that often tried to silence them. This list of the best LGBT historical fiction includes a mix of newer releases and older standouts—some I’ve peruse and loved, and a few that are still waiting patiently (or not-so-patiently) on my TBR. From slow burns and forbidden romances to stories of resilience and chosen family, these books bring the past to life through a beautifully queer lens. If you’re looking to enlarge your reading list or discover a hidden gem, you’re in the right place. Let’s dive in!