HENRY JAMES and Queer Filiationis sort of a sequel to Penn State professor Michael Anes-ko’s 2012 book, Monopolizing the Master, which is an account of how Henry James’ family tried to bowdlerize the Master’s letters after he died so that no one would think he might be homosexual.

Luminous Traitor is Martin Duberman’s attempt to shed light on an episode that is largely forgotten today, especially in the U.S.

Brodell is to be commended for the extensive research she’s done for each subject. Her methods of inquiry included poring through old newspapers, archival material, journals, photos, drawings, and maps. And her efforts paid off.

SET in the years following the Civil War in an unnamed state, Whiskey When We’re Dry is a Western that begins with Jessilyn Harney recalling that her mother died when giving birth to her, leaving her father to raise her and her brother Noah …

Pennsylvania Station offers a powerful glimpse into gay life in America before Stonewall, and a look at the complicated relationship between two very different men.

As to why she titled her book as she did, Tea explains it in several essays. In “Polishness” she concludes: “Anyone would get sick and tired of doing the same thing for seventeen years. When a memoir is what you’ve been doing. It means you’ve become horribly sick of yourself, of your narrative, and I had.”

So much happens in this beautifully rendered novel. The South comes to life in the way we have come to expect of Southern writers. Blanche Boyd does not overlook essential Southern themes—American themes, really—such as race and historical memory. Some mysteries are “cozies” in which a sweet lady detective pours lavender tea and reveals that the vicar did it. Tomb of the Unknown Racist is a not-cozy: sensibilities are not spared. The vigilant reader is thus rewarded.