Well then. This is basically the opposite of the last book. My mum saw a talk by the author, and apparently thought it sounded so good she bought me a copy… that’s probably because the main character is pretty obviously queer, but thanks mum!
This is a historical novel with a queer main character, and I think it was pulled off really really well. Kit’s interiority was well explored, it mapped well onto my experiences of growing up trans/gender dysphoria. The historical adventure bit was entirely consistent with how I know historical people lived outside the norms of their times (see books by Leslie Feinberg and like the entire field of historical gender studies).
Okay so why do I like this book so much: - omg Kit so like me - literally has a scene from a fanfic i wrote when i was 16 lol wtf - good queer character in a historical novel - quaker characters! and they’re properly countercultural in a historically accurate way! - good. plot! pacy! - brilliantly grounded in its environment (Cumbria) - aware of and engaged in the political/social turmoil of its times
Yeah! It was just a really really good historical novel. I’m really glad my mum found it. I was really impressed by how seriously/respectfully the main character’s gender identity is explored/presented, that was really great to read (it’s messy but not in a self-loathing way, includes positive and negative aspects, Kit never apologises for it, it’s consistent with the historical record). It’s probably my favourite trans novel after Stone Butch Blues (GOAT).
Only weakness was I thought it ended a bit abruptly, and with a big loose end that is sort of tied up in just a few pages — but like, in those days people did just go to see and you never heard from them again/had closure for like a decade unless providence fated your paths to somehow cross. So like, that’s fine.
Yeah! Good book! Yippee :)