Gay historical books

Sexual orientation refers to an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions to men, women, or both sexes. Most historians agree that there is evidence of homosexual activity and same-sex love, whether such relationships were accepted or persecuted, in every documented culture.

This report documents the range of abuses against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students in secondary school. It details widespread bullying and harassment, discriminatory. Hungary deepened its repression of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people on March 18 as the parliament passed a draconian law that will outlaw Pride and similar events, thereby. Sexual orientation is a component of identity that includes sexual and emotional attraction to another person and the behavior and/or social affiliation that may result from this attraction.

Gender identity is one’s self-identification as male, female, or an alternative gender. The pickings are more plentiful than they were a short while ago; these past few years have been a boon for fiction that explores these once lost and hidden lives. The first novel in a trilogy focused on the life and loves of Alexander The Great, penned by an author who fled her native England so she could live more openly with her female partner.

When I first read it, I was astounded by the even-handedness and reverence she showed for the relationship between Alexander and his lover Hephaestion. Renault found unexpected commercial success writing about romantic relationships between queer men, possibly because she explored them largely in ancient times and not as urgent social issues to be reckoned with at the time of publication.

Mary Renault was a major inspiration for New York Times bestselling novelist Eric Shaw Quinn when he set down to write a sweeping, swooning epic depicting the love story between Prince Jonathan and not-yet-king David as it appears in the Book of Samuel. Philippa Gregory is practically a household name thanks to her series of novels and their subsequent television adaptations based upon the War of the Roses and rise of the Tudors.

John Tradescant is a famed gardener and royal confidant, but when he falls under the spell of the beautiful and profoundly narcissistic Duke of Buckingham the result is far from a sweet romance. This debut novel about the forbidden union between two enslaved young men on a plantation in the Deep South created literary shockwaves when it was published in , heralding the arrival of a major talent determined to give literary life to men whose voices had been stolen from them by multiple mechanisms of dehumanization.

In my early 20s, this impulse buy — the two male trapeze artists on the cover looked quite fetching — ended up holding me in its thrall for several days. Simply put, I wish I could read this novel again for the first time. This emotional and uplifting panorama of gay life in the late 20 th Century begins in a Hollywood night club before sweeping across country and through the decades to come, depicting the changing boundaries of the closet by way of Hollywood stars, repressed police officers, activists and sex workers.

The older among us might find it a little bracing to consider as a setting for historical fiction. But this arresting debut novel from TV writer Rasheed Newsom depicts New York in the s through the eyes of a young black man, expanding our perspective on a time of profound change for queer men that has been explained to us ever since largely by white voices.

gay historical figures

As young Trey seeks survival and connection, he is mentored by civil rights icon Bayard Rustin and faces down villainous appearances from the likes of Bill Buckley and even Fred . He lives in West Hollywood, California, and writes tales of romance between men under the pseudonym C. Travis Rice.

Visit him at www. All Rights Reserved. Close Search. Fiction Listicles. Contributor: Christopher Rice June 8, June 15th, 3 min read. Share Tweet Share Pin. Fire From Heaven by Mary Renault The first novel in a trilogy focused on the life and loves of Alexander The Great, penned by an author who fled her native England so she could live more openly with her female partner. Earthly Joys by Philippa Gregory Philippa Gregory is practically a household name thanks to her series of novels and their subsequent television adaptations based upon the War of the Roses and rise of the Tudors.

The Prophets by Robert Jones, Jr This debut novel about the forbidden union between two enslaved young men on a plantation in the Deep South created literary shockwaves when it was published in , heralding the arrival of a major talent determined to give literary life to men whose voices had been stolen from them by multiple mechanisms of dehumanization. My Government Means to Kill Me by Rasheed Newson The older among us might find it a little bracing to consider as a setting for historical fiction.

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