The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast

Heather Rose Jones
  • 4.6 (22)
  • HISTORY
  • UPDATED MONTHLY

A show about queer women in history and historic literature, plus coverage of the field of sapphic historical fiction. Content note: May include discussions of sex within an academic context.

  1. MAR 21

    Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and the Invention of Lesbian Pirates - The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast Episode 338

    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 Politics of the Jolly Roger by Ulrike Klausmann, Marion Meinzerin, and Gabriel Kuhn This topic is discussed in one or more entries of the Lesbian Historic Motif Project here: Anne Bonny Mary Read LHMP Entry #547 A General History of the Pyrates Works mentioned by Helen Rodriguez: The History and Lives of Notorious Pirates (1735) The Extraordinary Adventures and Daring Exploits of Captain Henry Morgan (1813) The Naval History of the United States by Willis J. Abbott (1896) The Buccaneers and their Reign of Terror by C.M. Stevens (1899) The Homosexuality of Men and Women by Magnus Hirschfield (1920) ”Anne Bonny & Mary Read: They Killed Pricks” by Susan Baker in The Furies: Lesbian/Feminist Monthly Vol. 1, issue 6 (August 1972) Mistress of the Seas (novel) by John Carlova (1964) Forgotten Women ed. By Nancy M[???] (couldn’t identify this book) The Women Pirates (play) by Steve Gooch ( Mary Read, Buccaneer (novel) by Philip Rush (1945) Beneath the Black Flag by David Cordingly Kingston by Starlight (novel) by Christopher John Farley Black Sails (tv series) Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (video game) The Pirates of Neverland (video game) Our Flag Means Death (tv series) Hellcats (podcast fiction) 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: http://alpennia.com/blog/feed/ Twitter: @LesbianMotif Discord: Contact Heather for an invitation to the Alpennia/LHMP Discord server The Lesbian Historic Motif Project Patreon Links to Heather Online Website: http://alpennia.com Email: Heather Rose Jones Mastodon: @heatherrosejones@Wandering.Shop Bluesky: @heatherrosejones Facebook: Heather Rose Jones (author page) Links to Helen Rodriguez Online Email: Helenrodriguez1720@gmail.com Bluesky: @ladytyler.bsky.social

    49 min

  2. MAR 7

    On the Shelf for March 2026 - The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast Episode 337

    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 representation of female desire in early modern pornographic texts, 1660-1745” in Signs, 24: 589-94. Toulalan, Sarah. 2003. “Extraordinary Satisfactions: Lesbian Visibility in Seventeenth-Century Pornography in England” in Gender and History 15: 50-68 Johnson, Charles (pseudonym). 1724. A General History of the Pyrates: from their first rise and settlement in the Island of Providence, to the present time. With the remarkable actions and adventures of the two female pyrates Mary Read and Anne Bonny ... To which is added. A short abstract of the statute and civil law, in relation to pyracy. London: T. Warner. Book Shopping Sexing the Body: Gender Politics and the Construction of Sexuality by Anne Fausto Sterling Recent Lesbian/Sapphic Historical Fiction Rattlesridge by Mina Rose The Ink Between Us by Chiara Bellini Love and Gunpowder by Valeska Delsol Daughter of the Hunt by K. Arsenault Rivera Sweetbitter Song by Rosie Hewlett The Alchemist's Secret by Clare Marchant Salt and Surrender (The Aramanthine Sea #1) by E.S. Brandon A Change of Pace by J.A. Stevens A Comfortable Misery by Kassandra Hart The Fox and the Devil by Kiersten White Wayward Souls (Harker & Moriarty #2) by Susan J. Morris Spoiled Milk by Avery Curran The Nightshade (Hattie James #4) by Stacy Lynn Miller What I’ve been consuming Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones The Ruthless Lady’s Guide to Wizardry by C.M. Waggoner A transcript of this podcast is available here. (Interview transcripts added when available.) Links to the Lesbian Historic Motif Project Online Website: http://alpennia.com/lhmp Blog: http://alpennia.com/blog RSS: http://alpennia.com/blog/feed/ Twitter: @LesbianMotif Discord: Contact Heather for an invitation to the Alpennia/LHMP Discord server The Lesbian Historic Motif Project Patreon Links to Heather Online Website: http://alpennia.com Email: Heather Rose Jones Mastodon: @heatherrosejones@Wandering.Shop Bluesky: @heatherrosejones Facebook: Heather Rose Jones (author page)

    22 min

  3. FEB 21

    Aye, There’s the Rub - The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast Episode 336

    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.com/lhmp Blog: http://alpennia.com/blog RSS: http://alpennia.com/blog/feed/ Twitter: @LesbianMotif Discord: Contact Heather for an invitation to the Alpennia/LHMP Discord server The Lesbian Historic Motif Project Patreon Links to Heather Online Website: http://alpennia.com Email: Heather Rose Jones Mastodon: @heatherrosejones@Wandering.Shop Bluesky: @heatherrosejones Facebook: Heather Rose Jones (author page)

    31 min

  4. FEB 10

    On the Shelf for February 2026 - The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast Episode 335

    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 Priya Sridhar The Tale of Gudrun Sigurdsdóttir by Daniel Stride Recent and upcoming publications covered on the blog Reay, Barry. 2009. “Writing the Modern Histories of Homosexual England” in The Historical Journal, 52, 1. pp.213-233 Crannell, Marissa. 2015. Utterly Confused Categories: Gender Non-Conformity in Late Medieval and Early Modern Western Europe. Dissertation. Mara-McKay, Nico. 2018. “Becoming Gendered: Two Medieval Approaches to Intersex Gender Assignment” in Prandium: The Journal of Historical Studies vol. 7, no. 1. Roelens, Jonas. 2017. “A Woman Like Any Other: Female Sodomy, Hermaphroditism, and Witchcraft in Seventeenth-Century Bruges” in Journal of Women’s History, vol. 29 no. 4, Winter 2017. pp.11-34 Loveday, Kiki. “Sister Acts: Victorian Porn, Lesbian Drag, and Queer Reproduction” in Framework: The Journal of Cinema and Media, vol. 60, no. 2, 2019, pp. 201–26. Larson, Ruth. 1997. “Sex and Civility in a 17th-Century Dialogue: L’Escole des filles” in Papers on French Seventeenth-Century Literature, no. 47: 497-514. Rivers, Christopher. 1995. “Safe Sex: The Prophylactic Walls of the Cloister in the French Libertine Convent Novel of the Eighteenth Century” in Journal of the History of Sexuality, Vol. 5, No. 3: 381-402 Book Shopping Wurzelbacher, Karli. 2025. Emma Stebbins: Carving Out History. Huntington: The Heckscher Museum of Art. ISBN 979-8-9925162-1-0 Lodge, Sara. 2024. The Mysterious Case of the Victorian Female Detective. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-28660-1 Boyd, Rebecca. 2024. Exploring Ireland's Viking-Age Towns. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-03-259109-4 Recent Lesbian/Sapphic Historical Fiction Hawthorn & Bitter by Shannon K. Kelly Cut on the Bias by Susanna Bonaretti Before the Swallow Dares by Hannah Perrin-Haynes The Stillness Between Us (Voices of the Hive Trilogy) by Clara Bellweather The Language of Bees (Voices of the Hive Trilogy) by Clara Bellweather The Keeper of Tides (Voices of the Hive Trilogy) by Clara Bellweather The Language of Leaves (The Silent Companions) by Clara Bellweather The Marginal Truth (The Silent Companions) by Clara Bellweather The Stitched Confession (The Silent Companions) by Clara Bellweather Fire Sword and Sea by Vanessa Riley Sword and Silk: The Legend of Julie d'Aubigny by Maeve Campbell La Maupin : The Scandalous Story of Julie d'Aubigny by C.C. Parke The Black Lark's Oath by Tess Wilder Embers on the Moor by Giada Moretti Unfinished Story by Jade Winters The Midnight Daughters by Aeressa The Hidden Petition (Beacon Hill Mysteries #1) by Maeve McQueen The House of Hidden Hearts by Matus Zelenay E.V. Bancroft by E.V. Bancroft A Very Hamble Christmas by E.V. Bancroft Star & Thea at Court by A V Kakkad The Hidden Flower in the Palace: A Queer Court Tragedy by Shin Hwayoon She-Wolf: A Sapphic Beowulf Retelling by E.K. O'Connor The Fifth Day of Her Heart by Richard Cicay The Found Family Victory (Salvation's Edge #1) by Lady K Belonging to the Air by Avery Irons Joe the Pirate by Hubert A Slow and Secret Poison by Carmella Lowkis What I’ve been consuming Dead Dead Girls by Nekesa Afia A transcript of this podcast is available here. (Interview transcripts added when available.) Links to the Lesbian Historic Motif Project Online Website: http://alpennia.com/lhmp Blog: http://alpennia.com/blog RSS: http://alpennia.com/blog/feed/ Twitter: @LesbianMotif Discord: Contact Heather for an invitation to the Alpennia/LHMP Discord server The Lesbian Historic Motif Project Patreon Links to Heather Online Website: http://alpennia.com Email: Heather Rose Jones Mastodon: @heatherrosejones@Wandering.Shop Bluesky: @heatherrosejones Facebook: Heather Rose Jones (author page)

    21 min

  5. JAN 31

    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

    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 podcast is available here. Links to the Lesbian Historic Motif Project Online Website: http://alpennia.com/lhmp Blog: http://alpennia.com/blog RSS: http://alpennia.com/blog/feed/ Twitter: @LesbianMotif Discord: Contact Heather for an invitation to the Alpennia/LHMP Discord server The Lesbian Historic Motif Project Patreon Links to Heather Online Website: http://alpennia.com Email: Heather Rose Jones Mastodon: @heatherrosejones@Wandering.Shop Bluesky: @heatherrosejones Facebook: Heather Rose Jones (author page) Links to EC Hallewell Online Bluesky: @echallewell.bsky.social

    36 min

  6. JAN 17

    Our F/Favorite Tropes Part 19: Age Gap - The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast Episode 333

    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 Historic Motif Project Online Website: http://alpennia.com/lhmp Blog: http://alpennia.com/blog RSS: http://alpennia.com/blog/feed/ Twitter: @LesbianMotif Discord: Contact Heather for an invitation to the Alpennia/LHMP Discord server The Lesbian Historic Motif Project Patreon Links to Heather Online Website: http://alpennia.com Email: Heather Rose Jones Mastodon: @heatherrosejones@Wandering.Shop Bluesky: @heatherrosejones Facebook: Heather Rose Jones (author page)

    9 min

  7. JAN 3

    On the Shelf for January 2026 - The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast Episode 332

    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) Imperial China. Dissertation. Sommer, Matthew H. “Was China Part of a Global Eighteenth-Century Homosexuality?” in Historical Reflections / Réflexions Historiques, vol. 33, no. 1, 2007, pp. 117–33. Carton, Adrian. 2006. “Desire and Same-Sex Intimacies in Asia” in Gay Life and Culture, A World History, ed. Robert Aldrich. Universe Publishing, New York. ISBN 978-0-7893-1511-3 Gowing, Laura. 2006. ”Lesbians and Their Like in Early Modern Europe, 1500-1800” in Gay Life and Culture: A World History ed. Robert Aldrich. London: Thames and Hudson. 125-43 Rupp, Leila J. 2001. “Toward a Global History of Same-Sex Sexuality” in Journal of the History of Sexuality, Vol. 10, No. 2: 287-302 Leupp, Gary P. 2007. “Capitalism and Homosexuality in Eighteenth-Century Japan.” in Historical Reflections / Réflexions Historiques, vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 135–52. Pflugfelder, Gregory M. 1992. “Strange Fates: Sex, Gender, and Sexuality in Torikaebaya Monogatari” in Monumenta Nipponica Vol. 47, No. 3 (Autumn, 1992), pp. 347-368. Shah, Shalini. 1991. “Women and Sexuality in the Mahabharata” in Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 52: 138-144. Srivastava, Manjari & Manjari Shrivastava. 2007. “Lesbianism in Nineteenth Century Erotic Urdu Poetry “Rekhti”” in Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 68, Part One: 965-988 Book Shopping The Mysterious Case of the Victorian Female Detective by Sara Lodge Recent Lesbian/Sapphic Historical Fiction Dreadful Sorry, Clemintine (Clementine #2) by Genta Sebastian Steel on Distance by N.J. Knox A Djinn and Tonic (The Magical Underground #2) by Nan Sampson Gold and Grace by Eline Evans Like in Love with You by Emma R. Alban The Debutante Dilemma by author The Case of the Murdered Muckraker (Harriot Morrow Investigates #2) by Rob Osler What I’ve been consuming The Case of the Missing Maid by Rob Osler Saint-Seducing Gold by Brittany N. William A Plague on Both Your Houses by Susanna Gregory Earl Crush by Alexandra Vasti Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite Emma: The Nature of a Lady by Kate Christie The Scandal at Pemberley by Mara Brooks The Shocking Experiments of Miss Mary Bennet by Melinda Taub The Lady’s Wager by Olivia Hampton Call for submissions for the 2026 LHMP audio short story series. See here for details. This month we interview M.K. Hardy and talk about: Needfire by MK Hardy (US availability is limited) MK Hardy is a nom de plume for Morag Hannah and Erin Hardee Adapting the gothic template for sapphic stories Why Scotland is the perfect setting for gothics The benefits and complications of writing as a team Forthcoming: The Haunting of Avis Lovelock A transcript of this podcast is available here. (Interview transcripts added when available.) Links to the Lesbian Historic Motif Project Online Website: http://alpennia.com/lhmp Blog: http://alpennia.com/blog RSS: http://alpennia.com/blog/feed/ Twitter: @LesbianMotif Discord: Contact Heather for an invitation to the Alpennia/LHMP Discord server The Lesbian Historic Motif Project Patreon Links to Heather Online Website: http://alpennia.com Email: Heather Rose Jones Mastodon: @heatherrosejones@Wandering.Shop Bluesky: @heatherrosejones Facebook: Heather Rose Jones (author page) Links to MK Hardy Online Website: https://www.mkhardywrites.com/ Twitter: @mkhardywrites Instagram: @mkhardywrites Bluesky: @mkhardywrites.com

    37 min

  8. 12/20/2025

    Jane Austen Birthday Celebration - The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast Episode 331

    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 fiction mentioned in the episode ”Margaret” by Eleanor Musgrove in A Certain Persuasion (The LHMP audio version can be found here. After this podcast was recorded, the author has also made the story available as an ebook stand-alone.) ”Eleanor and Ada” by Julie Bozza in A Certain Persuasion (Not currently in print? The link is to the author’s website.) Lucas by Elna Holst Gay Pride and Prejudice by Kate Christie The Heiress: The Revelations of Anne de Bourgh by Molly Greeley ”Father Doesn’t Dance” by Eleanor Musgrove in A Certain Persuasion (Not currently in print.) Frederica and the Viscountess by Barbara Davies Her Particular Friend by J.L. Merrow in A Certain Persuasion (Link is to a stand-alone reprint of the story.) Kissing Emma by Gemma Harborne (out of print) “One Half of the World” by Adam Fitzroy in A Certain Persuasion (Not currently in print?) A Certain Persuasion: Modern LGBTQ+ fiction inspired by Jane Austen’s novels edited by Julie Bozza. Manifold Press, 2016. (Unfortunately Manifold Press has gone out of business. Used hard copies may be available at this link. Stories that have been made available in other venues have links in the individual listings. Books new to this updated version of the episode The Unlikely Pursuit of Mary Bennet by Lindz McLeod Interview with Lindz McLeod The Miseducation of Caroline Bingley by Lindz McLeod The Scandal at Pemberley by Mara Brooks The Lady's Wager by Olivia Hampton The Shocking Experiments of Miss Mary Bennet by Melinda Taub The Unruly Heart of Miss Darcy by Erin Edwards Kitty (The Bennet Sisters #1) by T.J. Ryan Emma: A Secret Lesbian by Garnet Marriott (out of print) Emma: Restraint and Presumption by Garnet Marriott (out of print) Sanditon: The Lesbian Solution by Garnet Marriott (out of print) Emma: The Nature of a Lady by Kate Christie I Shall Never Fall in Love by Hari Connor A transcript of this podcast is available here. (Interview transcripts added when available.) Links to the Lesbian Historic Motif Project Online Website: http://alpennia.com/lhmp Blog: http://alpennia.com/blog RSS: http://alpennia.com/blog/feed/ Twitter: @LesbianMotif Discord: Contact Heather for an invitation to the Alpennia/LHMP Discord server The Lesbian Historic Motif Project Patreon Links to Heather Online Website: http://alpennia.com Email: Heather Rose Jones Mastodon: @heatherrosejones@Wandering.Shop Bluesky: @heatherrosejones Facebook: Heather Rose Jones (author page)

    59 min
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4.6
out of 5
22 Ratings

About

A show about queer women in history and historic literature, plus coverage of the field of sapphic historical fiction. Content note: May include discussions of sex within an academic context.

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