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History's Passions: Stories of Sex Before Stonewall
Four acclaimed erotic authors re-imagine the past... welcome to the hidden queer history of men loving men not so very long—and centuries—ago.
In "Heaven on Earth," Lambda Literary Award-winner editor and author Simon Sheppard evokes a noirish Depression-era setting for Wichita rich kid Eli who, with an innocent young gas station attendant as his sidekick, embarks on a bloody, lust-fueled crime Bonnie and Clyde meet Leopold and Loeb.
In "Camp Allegheny," Lambda finalist Jeff Mann recounts a clandestine Civil War romance between two Rebel soldiers whose passionate lovemaking survives bitter winters, life-threatening sickness, and bloody fighting during the real-life Battle of Allegheny in 1861 and the Battle of McDowell in 1862.
In "Tender Mercies," Dale Chase imagines the world of young Luke Farrow, a failure at prospecting during the California Gold Rush who succeeds in the more lucrative role of camp boy, where physical violence is as much a part of a rough, raw world as is selling sex for nuggets of gold—until a surprisingly tender man comes into Luke's life.
In "The Valley of Salt," David Holly blends legend with lust in the beautiful city of Gomorrah more than 3,000 years ago, where the Priests of Ball summon a beautiful young man as a temple sacrifice— which means he's now the indoor sport of the legendary city's sexually potent warriors, until taken captive during the Battle of the Vale of Siddom.
In "Heaven on Earth," Lambda Literary Award-winner editor and author Simon Sheppard evokes a noirish Depression-era setting for Wichita rich kid Eli who, with an innocent young gas station attendant as his sidekick, embarks on a bloody, lust-fueled crime Bonnie and Clyde meet Leopold and Loeb.
In "Camp Allegheny," Lambda finalist Jeff Mann recounts a clandestine Civil War romance between two Rebel soldiers whose passionate lovemaking survives bitter winters, life-threatening sickness, and bloody fighting during the real-life Battle of Allegheny in 1861 and the Battle of McDowell in 1862.
In "Tender Mercies," Dale Chase imagines the world of young Luke Farrow, a failure at prospecting during the California Gold Rush who succeeds in the more lucrative role of camp boy, where physical violence is as much a part of a rough, raw world as is selling sex for nuggets of gold—until a surprisingly tender man comes into Luke's life.
In "The Valley of Salt," David Holly blends legend with lust in the beautiful city of Gomorrah more than 3,000 years ago, where the Priests of Ball summon a beautiful young man as a temple sacrifice— which means he's now the indoor sport of the legendary city's sexually potent warriors, until taken captive during the Battle of the Vale of Siddom.
- GenresAnthologies
288 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2011
2 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
About the author
Richard Labonté
65 books53 followersi read a lot of books. i review many of them. i edit many anthologies. i edit technical writing so it reads more like real english. i live on a small island with a man and a dog (tiger-lily, r.i.p). once upon a time, i was a bookseller.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 29, 2017
Since this book has no reviews, I suppose I should write one!
This is a collection of four short stories that are set in four different time periods: American Civil War, early 20th C., the California Gold Rush, and pre-history/Biblical era. Each story is really different and the styles of the authors really come out. I picked up this book to read Jeff Mann's short story because I really enjoy his novels (as intense as they may be) - it was my favorite in the anthology.
These are definitely stories of sex, not necessarily romance, although some of the characters do experience that in their own way. Overall, an interesting installment of gay literature.
This is a collection of four short stories that are set in four different time periods: American Civil War, early 20th C., the California Gold Rush, and pre-history/Biblical era. Each story is really different and the styles of the authors really come out. I picked up this book to read Jeff Mann's short story because I really enjoy his novels (as intense as they may be) - it was my favorite in the anthology.
These are definitely stories of sex, not necessarily romance, although some of the characters do experience that in their own way. Overall, an interesting installment of gay literature.
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October 16, 2012dnf
April 5, 2012
I really enjoyed Tender Mercies, a story of the camp boy during the gold rush by Dale Chase. The others were okay. I won't read it again, though.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews