Two authors take on historical fiction with these novels featuring queer love, heartbreak, coming of age and agency with rich settings and vibrant casts, from 17th century France to the wild, wild American West.

Celia Bell's The Disenchantment finds Paris amidst political and social upheaval, while one noblewoman balances her unhappy marriage and her female lover in the tenuous world of high society intrigue. Bell joins us to talk about this particularly interesting time period, how a fairy tale inspired the novel, incorporating real people from history and more.

Lucky Red by Claudia Cravens is a nonstop Western following a scrappy and resilient young woman who faces hardship head-on by taking a job at a brothel where she finds strength, friendship and maybe even love with an alluring gunfighter. Cravens talks with us about creating a tactile world, telling queer stories, writing hot mess characters and more.

This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.

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Featured Books (Episode):

The Disenchantment by Celia Bell

Lucky Red by Claudia Cravens

Kissing the Witch by Emma Donoghue

Regeneration by Pat Barker

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

Lone Women by Victor LaValle

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi