Books in the Q19: The Queer American Nineteenth Century series

The stories gathered here explore the vagaries of sexual desire, gender identity, and erotic attachment, revealing the surprising queerness of nineteenth-century American literature.

"Ethel's Love-Life" and Other Writings presents an annotated edition of what's sometimes called the first American "lesbian" novel, with an introduction by Christopher Looby, as well as a collection of author Margaret J. M. Sweat's poetry and her published essays on Charlotte Bronte, George Sand, the novel, and the friendships of women.

In brilliant artist Cecil Dreeme, narrator Robert Byng finds a friend unlike any he has known before. But is Cecil the man he claims to be, and can their friendship survive the dangers they will soon face together?