Hi! I’m Charlie McGill (they/them). If you like weird speculative fiction, queer characters, and historical shenanigans, you’ve come to the right place. Rep'd by Susan Armstrong at C&W; my debut novel, OUR HIDEOUS PROGENY, out now! 🎉🌟 You can also find me at @C_E_McGill on Twitter and Insta or at www.cemcgill.com!
Do you like the exquisite homoerotic tension of two Victorian ladies just barely brushing hands?
Do you think that Frankenstein would have gone a lot better if only Victor had been less of an absolute weenie?
Do you look at the story of the Loch Ness Monster and think “...but what if a dinosaur got in the lake”
THEN BOY, DO I HAVE THE BOOK FOR YOU!
Move over, chemists, it’s time for mad paleontologists to shine!
Years ago, Mary’s great uncle Victor Frankenstein mysteriously disappeared in the Arctic; now, in 1853, Mary and her reckless husband Henry are struggling to make a name for themselves as paleontologists in the old-boys'-club that is the world of Victorian science. But when Mary discovers her great-uncle's old notes, detailing his gruesome attempts at creating life, she comes up with a plan — one that will finally make them some money, prove Henry's radical paleontological theories right, and get Mary some of the respect she goddamn deserves...
Our Hideous Progeny is out NOW! Available wherever good books are sold, and also at your library if you yell (politely) at your local librarians to acquire it! 🖤💚🧡
Thanks all, byeee!
(P.S. You can find the content warnings for OHP here!)
I Shall Never Fall in Love - meet the characters (1/3): George
One of my first big ideas for this book was classic historical romance but with a nonbinary/ transmasc romantic lead - inspired by real queer history, but still a comfort read. Think:
Historical romance repressed emotion and longing / but including gender longing
Gentlemanly manners vs. butch chivalry
Difference that puts them at odds with high society, and leads them to question it
[id: x/twitter qrt from user styloshka that says "I read a forum post about art once, that it's a product of the dialectic between the effort of the artist and the friction of the medium. You push on the thing and the thing pushes back on you, it has its own voice. The weight of a piano key, the tension of a guitar string." original post from user colleen_daves says "Don't you want to skip over the mindless drudgery that is making art?" I do six stand embroidery and break like 10 needles a day, would I prefer that activity didn't hurt my hands and make me angry? Sure. But that's what makes having the finished piece after so worth it to me."]
I can't stop reading the 1793 third edition of "A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue" (originally published 1785). I have been irritating all my friends and coworkers with fun new terms like "That's the barber!" and "He looks like God's revenge against murder."
Anyway, Ash talked me into drawing some of the phrases and I ended up with these little mid-1780s Londoners.
Highly recommend A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue if you want to write with or otherwise use interesting slang. Since it's old as balls, you can just pull it out of various archive sites for free.
Here is an easily found pdf copy of the 1796 3rd edition, for example. Tragically it's pdf images and not text searchable, probably because the uploader was a gollumpus.
That link is from the Internet Archive, whose amazing utility is not PDFs. Their PDF files are huge, and not always with OCR. (And if they're via Google Books, they're never with OCR). But if you go to their site and search, say, for "Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue", you can access all the versions online (I count 17 of them), and on each version you can go to the Full Text (see the column on the right, it's got a bunch of formats) and search for text from your browser, or after you download.
That said, these files are the result of an automatic process: they have mistakes, and no one has manually corrected them, and turned every "ſ" (that the machine read as "f") to "s" etc. Still a fantastic resource to find and read a book online (the Internet Archive is invaluable and irreplaceable, and I DREAD the legal troubles it's in), just not the best way to search for text inside.
So if Project Gutenberg, which does involve manual corrections, has the book you want, it's a lot more convenient. And in this case, it does! Here's the 1811 edition, fully text-searchable. :)
So apparently last year the National Park Service in the US dropped an over 1200 page study of LGBTQ American History as part of their Who We Are program which includes studies on African-American history, Latino history, and Indigenous history.
Like. This is awesome. But also it feels very surreal that maybe one of the most comprehensive examinations of LGBTQ history in America (it covers sports! art! race! historical sites! health! cities!) was just casually done by the parks service.
Chapter 1: Prologue: Why LGBTQ Historic Sites Matter by Mark Meinke
Chapter 2: Introduction to the LGBTQ Heritage Initiative Theme Study by Megan E. Springate
Chapter 3: Introduction to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) History in the United States by Leisa Meyer and Helis Sikk
Chapter 4: The History of Queer History: One Hundred Years of the Search for Shared Heritage by Gerard Koskovich
Chapter 5: The Preservation of LGBTQ Heritage by Gail Dubrow
Chapter 6: LGBTQ Archeological Context by Megan E. Springate
Chapter 7: A Note about Intersectionality by Megan E. Springate
Chapter 8: Making Bisexuals Visible by Loraine Hutchins
Chapter 9: Sexual and Gender Diversity in Native America and the Pacific Islands by Will Roscoe
Chapter 10: Transgender History in the US and the Places that Matter by Susan Stryker
Chapter 11: Breathing Fire: Remembering Asian Pacific American Activism in Queer History by Amy Sueyoshi
Chapter 12: Latina/o Gender and Sexuality by Deena J. González and Ellie D. Hernandez
Chapter 13: “Where We Could Be Ourselves”: African American LGBTQ Historic Places and Why They Matter by Jeffrey A. Harris
Chapter 14: LGBTQ Spaces and Places by Jen Jack Gieseking
Chapter 15: Making Community: The Places and Spaces of LGBTQ Collective Identity Formation by Christina B. Hanhardt
Chapter 16: LGBTQ Business and Commerce by David K. Johnson
Chapter 17: Sex, Love, and Relationships by Tracy Baim
Chapter 18: LGBTQ Civil Rights in America by Megan E. Springate
Chapter 19: Historical Landmarks and Landscapes of LGBTQ Law by Marc Stein
Chapter 20: LGBTQ Military Service by Steve Estes
Chapter 21: Struggles in Body and Spirit: Religion and LGBTQ People in US History by Drew Bourn
Chapter 22: LGBTQ and Health by Katie Batza
Chapter 23: LGBTQ Art and Artists by Tara Burk
Chapter 24: LGBTQ Sport and Leisure by Katherine Schweighofer
Chapter 25: San Francisco: Placing LGBTQ Histories in the City by the Bay by Donna J. Graves and Shayne E. Watson
Chapter 26: Preservation of LGBTQ Historic & Cultural Sites – A New York City Perspective by Jay Shockley
Chapter 27: Locating Miami’s Queer History by Julio Capó, Jr.
Chapter 28: Queerest Little City in the World: LGBTQ Reno by John Jeffrey Auer IV
Chapter 29: Chicago: Queer Histories at the Crossroads of America by Jessica Herczeg-Konecny
Chapter 30: Nominating LGBTQ Places to the National Register of Historic Places and as National Historic Landmarks: An Introduction by Megan E. Springate and Caridad de la Vega
Chapter 31: Interpreting LGBTQ Historic Sites by Susan Ferentinos
Chapter 32: Teaching LGBTQ History and Heritage by Leila J. Rupp
Let me explain what is happening here, because I don’t think that this post is very representative of why this matters.
The purpose of the theme studies, this one included, is to locate the physical remnants of the past, so that they can be properly preserved by governmental and nonprofit entities. They are not just descriptions of history, they are documents that can be used for grant work, for preventing places from being destroyed, or for promoting the restoration of those places. This theme study is a statement from the federal government that the preservation of these places is important, and that can be translated by the states into these places being legally required to be protected.
The theme studies are also really important because they recontextualized what it means to locate history in a place. This started before the LGBT theme study, there’s a lot of this in the Latino theme study, but they present a reconsideration of what you can call historic when the actions of a group left no physical traces on the spaces that they used. We are now seeing the possibility of considering places like cruising areas as historic properties because they represent the patterns of a culture.
This is the Park Service’s job. This is what you should be expecting from them. There are theme studies and special resource studies on dozens of things. A really important Civil Rights one dropped like last week. The Park Service is charged with running our national parks, sure, but the bulk of their work is like this. This is the type of shit that you can and should expect out of your National Park Service. Nobody else is gonna do it.
Sir Terry Pratchett's iconic Discworld novel Night Watch, featuring Commander Sam Vimes, to be published as a Penguin Classic.
To me, and to a significant subset of Sir Terry's fans (including most of you who've found this by the tags), his writing is serious commentary on the human condition - politics, prejudice, self-control, revenge vs. justice, religion, idealism, faith in people vs. cynicism, and more - dressed up with fantasy settings and a hefty leavening of humor to make it fun to read. And it is WILDLY fun to read, actual laugh-out-loud or at least a snicker averaging about every page.
But there's this common idea among the "important literature" people that fun and funny books are not also worthwhile or important in the same way.
This is a Discworld book being released WITH ACADEMIC COMMENTARY and AS A PENGUIN CLASSIC. That's a HUGE amount of recognition.
Oh, I’m about to tear up. I had to fight so hard to do my thesis on Pratchett because the university didn't like what they considered pop culture being studied as literature and this is just... Existing. 🥹
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley
All the Painted Stars by Emma Denny
Voting ended onJul 5, 2025
Book summaries and submitted endorsements below:
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley
1883. Thaniel Steepleton returns home to his tiny London apartment to find a gold pocket watch on his pillow. Six months later, the mysterious timepiece saves his life, drawing him away from a blast that destroys Scotland Yard. At last, he goes in search of its maker, Keita Mori, a kind, lonely immigrant from Japan. Although Mori seems harmless, a chain of unexplainable events soon suggests he must be hiding something. When Grace Carrow, an Oxford physicist, unwittingly interferes, Thaniel is torn between opposing loyalties.
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street is a sweeping, atmospheric narrative that takes the reader on an unexpected journey through Victorian London, Japan as its civil war crumbles long-standing traditions, and beyond. Blending historical events with dazzling flights of fancy, it opens doors to a strange and magical past.
All the Painted Stars by Emma Denny (14th Century Oxfordshire #2)
Endorsement from submitter: "What if A Knight's Tale was about lesbians? That's it, that's the book. Also the author's fixation on medieval brewing. Swords, jousting, and the lesbian yearning of being secretly in love with your best friend and not being able to do anything about it. Lily is good at two things: hitting guys with a stick, and ruining marriages."
Oxfordshire 1362
When Lily Barden discovers her best friend Johanna’s hand in marriage is being awarded as the main prize at a tournament, she is determined to stop it. Disguised as a knight, she infiltrates the contest, preparing to fight for Jo’s hand. But her conduct ruffles feathers, and when a dangerous incident escalates out of Lily’s control, Jo must help her escape.
Finding safety with a local brewster, Lily and Jo soon settle into their new freedom, and amongst blackberry bushes and lakeside walks an unexpected relationship blossoms. But when Jo’s past catches up with her and Lily’s reckless behaviour threatens their newfound happiness, both women realise that choices must always come at a cost. The question they need to ask is if the cost is worth the price of love…
The Vampire Chronicles (Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat, The Queen of the Damned, The Tale of the Body Thief, Memnoch the Devil, The Vampire Armand, Merrick, Blood and Gold, Blackwood Farm, Blood Canticle, Prince Lestat, Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis, Blood Communion) by Anne Rice
This is the story of Louis, as told in his own words, of his journey through mortal and immortal life. Louis recounts how he became a vampire at the hands of the radiant and sinister Lestat and how he became indoctrinated, unwillingly, into the vampire way of life. His story ebbs and flows through the streets of New Orleans, defining crucial moments such as his discovery of the exquisite lost young child Claudia, wanting not to hurt but to comfort her with the last breaths of humanity he has inside. Yet, he makes Claudia a vampire, trapping her womanly passion, will, and intelligence inside the body of a small child. Louis and Claudia form a seemingly unbreakable alliance and even "settle down" for a while in the opulent French Quarter. Louis remembers Claudia's struggle to understand herself and the hatred they both have for Lestat that sends them halfway across the world to seek others of their kind. Louis and Claudia are desperate to find somewhere they belong, to find others who understand, and someone who knows what and why they are.
Louis and Claudia travel Europe, eventually coming to Paris and the ragingly successful Theatre des Vampires—a theatre of vampires pretending to be mortals pretending to be vampires. Here they meet the magnetic and ethereal Armand, who brings them into a whole society of vampires. But Louis and Claudia find that finding others like themselves provides no easy answers and in fact presents dangers they scarcely imagined.
Originally begun as a short story, the book took off as Anne wrote it, spinning the tragic and triumphant life experiences of a soul. As well as the struggles of its characters, Interview captures the political and social changes of two continents. The novel also introduces Lestat, Anne's most enduring character, a heady mixture of attraction and revulsion. The book, full of lush description, centers on the themes of immortality, change, loss, sexuality, and power.
It is not the monster you must fear, but the monster it makes of men. . .
For readers of Circe or Ariadne, a brilliant literary revisiting of Mary Shelley's classic Frankenstein with a fresh, queer, provocative twist.
Mary is the great-niece of Victor Frankenstein. She knows her great uncle disappeared in mysterious circumstances in the Arctic, but she doesn't know why or how…
The 1850s is a time of discovery, and London is ablaze with the latest scientific theories and debates, especially when a spectacular new exhibition of dinosaur sculptures opens at the Crystal Palace. Mary, with a sharp mind and a sharper tongue, is keen to make her name in this world of science alongside her geologist husband Henry, but without wealth and connections, their options are limited.
But when Mary discovers some old family papers that allude to the shocking truth behind her great-uncle's past, she thinks she may have found the key to securing their future… Their quest takes them to the wilds of Scotland, to Henry's intriguing but reclusive sister Maisie, and to a deadly chase with a rival who is out to steal their secret.
Our Hideous Progeny is a sumptuous tale of ambition and obsession, of forbidden love and sabotage; an adventure story that blends classic, immersive storytelling with contemporary themes.
A drawing by Paul Gavarni, 1838, in his series Les Petits malheurs du bonheur (Little Misfortunes of Happiness).
The caption reads: Pour ne pas afficher ses amours, sortir précipitamment par une porte dérobée et rester pris au traquenard. (In order not to show off your love life, you rush out through a back door and get caught in the trap.)
after eight years, I finally updated my huge Historical Fashion Reference & Resources Doc! Now in the form of a MUCH more easily updated Google Doc with better organization, refreshed links, and five more pages of books and online resources.
I know tumblr hates links, but it’s worth it for a doc that I can now update with far more regularity going forward! RIP to the original, you did your duty for far longer than you should have. 😔🙏🏼
I just finished reading Triple Sec and it was so good for so many reasons! The characters are just so sweet and I love them all. Especially Kade whose awkward confidence and straightforward kindess I adore. I am definitely a bit starved for poly romance and I was so happy to find this today!
thank you so much! If you're looking for more queer poly book recs I believe the @queerliblib has some in their Ask tag. I would personally recommend Infinity Alchemist by Kacen Callender, which is a YA fantasy/adventure with a pretty nuanced eventual triad romance as part of the main plot.
Infinity Alchemist is in our wishlist! Haven’t been able to get it yet but hopefully soon 🤞
& yes there should be a few in our asks but we’ve also currently got a polyamory list up on the main page of our Libby if you’ve got a QLL card. (if you’re not already a member you can sign up here <3)
