Why am I passionate about this?
As a queer, nonbinary author and lover of historical fiction, Iâve spent countless hours thinking about how to tell stories I care about in a genre that has traditionally excluded people like me. We all know that life was hard for LGBTQ+ folks growing up in, well, basically any time in recent history. Thereâs a time and place for realistic depictions of those hardships, but we also need space to imagine ourselves in more joyful, fantastical depictions of the past. After all, if straight people can enjoy Jane Austen without thinking too hard about the legal rights of women during that era, why canât queer people do the same?
S.H.'s book list on a spicy queer romp through history
Why did S.H. love this book?
By some bizarre coincidence, Iâm not the only writer publishing a queer YA retelling of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde coming out this year! Luckily, this retelling is a much different take from mine, envisioning the story from the perspective of two young Black boys growing up in Victorian London.
Too many films, television, and books still seem to think that people of color didnât exist in Britain before, say, the 1960s. (which is ridiculous, as London was a major port city for centuries, not to mention the seat of the British Empire.)
This book helps set the record straight, cleverly deploying the original novellaâs themes of respectability and duality to explore the unique pressures faced by gay Black men during that era.
1 author picked My Dear Henry as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.
In the Remixed Classics series, authors from marginalized backgrounds reinterpret classic works through their own cultural lens to subvert the overwhelming cishet, white, and male canon. This gothic YA remix of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde subverts the cishet white perspective of the original, starring a Black queer teen searching for the reason behind his best friendâs disappearance and the arrival of a magnetic stranger.
London, 1885. Gabriel Utterson, a 17-year-old law clerk, has returned to London for the first time since his lifeâ and that of his dearest friend, Henry Jekyllâwas derailed by a scandal that led to hisâŚ