I'm listening to Hungerstone and I'm enjoying it! But I'm wondering – are there any straight historical romance books that aren't like, I don't know, the Bridgertons, where all the traditional gender roles are reproduced? They don't have to be historically accurate. I guess what I mean is, are there any historical romance books that aren't heteronormative? Hahaha
by cdwnk
6 Comments
Yes indeed! If you look around. I’ve just read Traitor’s Legacy by SJ Parris, set in Tudor times – with a female hero who to some extent is limited by the mores of the times, but not that much. This is a spin-off book from her Giordano Bruno series, but you could read this without having read those.
She has an extremely adventurous and untrammelled life [probably not all that realistic tbh] but Parris makes it credible. Super read, very well written. Though strictly speaking, not a romance.
There’s also the less literary but still fun read, the Flavia Alba series by Lindsay Davis in which Flavia is a sleuth in ancient Rome [not that likely!] and manages to live a very free life, and has her lover, then her husband, under her thumb, to some extent. The book in which she meets her husband is romance-y to a point but then more sleuth-y.
The Cape Doctor by Levy, based on the true story of an Irish woman who lived as a man, and became a successful doctor in the 1800s.
Check out Courtney Milan! I like all her books, and they always have characters not conforming to expected roles in some way. The Countess Conspiracy is one of my favorites—set in the 1860s, the heroine is secretly a groundbreaking botanist/geneticist.
The Devil Cones Courting is also very good. Heroine is a Chinese woman raised by English missionaries whose ambition is to make a telegraphic code for Chinese writing.
IDK if it entirely fits what you’re looking for, but you might like *A Contracted Spouse for the Prizefighter* by Alice Coldbreath. The FMC is an actor pursuing her dream of playing a male impersonator on the stage.
Are you ok with M/F pairings where one or both are bi? If so:
The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes by Cat Sebastian
Gilded Cage by KJ Charles
If you’re ok with a slow burn romantic arc that stretches across multiple books in a series:
The Lady Sherlock series by Sherry Thomas
You might try Untamed by Anna Cowan. I wouldn’t call it flawless, but I found it fun, quirky (cross-dressing duke), and memorable. [](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17877553-untamed#CommunityReviews)