We’re in the era of inclusive historical romance novels, and that includes awesome lesbian romance books!
In this list, I’ve gathered six historical romances set in England featuring cis women falling in love. I discovered that readers use a variety of terms to refer to this type of romance!
I was using the term “sapphic romance books,” and it turns out that is not the clearest way to refer to them.
What does sapphic romance mean?
When I first told my husband I was writing a sapphic romance, he (a college-educated cishet man) asked, “what does sapphic mean?”
Which was my first clue that the term is not widely known. If you also wonder “what are sapphic books?” then you are not alone!
According the dictionary, Sapphic comes from the Greek poet, Sappho (who lived on the isle of Lesbos), but outside of the context of poetry, it refers to sexual attraction or activity between women.
In this article from Them, the term is defined more broadly these days to refer to a queer love or queer community.
When we say “sapphic romance,” we mean romances featuring queer love, and in this list, the books all feature cis women experiencing sexual attraction to each other.
Is sapphic the same as lesbian romance or f/f or w/w romance?
In general, from what I’ve seen online, readers tend to use all these terms interchangeably to refer to romances exploring attraction between characters who identify as women.
Sapphic romance: A term deriving from Sappho, the Greek poet who lived on the isle of Lesbos, referring to sexual attraction between women
Lesbian romance: A term deriving from the isle of Lesbos, referring to a women who are attracted to other women
F/F romance: A denotation meaning “female and female” romance, referring to the gender identity of the two main characters
W/W romance: A denotation meaning “woman and woman’ romance, again referring to the gender identity of the two main characters
As long as you are being respectful of the identities and attractions of the characters involved, I think you can use the term that seems most appropriate to you for the book in question.
The most popular search term seems to be “lesbian romance books”, so that’s the term I’m primarily using here to help people find the blog post!
With all those definitions behind us, let’s get on to the list:
6 Lesbian Romance Books Set in Historical England
The Perks of Loving a Wallflower
by Erica Ridley
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.0
As a master of disguise, Thomasina Wynchester can be a polite young lady—or a bawdy old man. Anything to solve the case. Her latest assignment unveils a top-secret military cipher covering up an enigma that goes back centuries. But when Tommy’s beautiful new client turns out to be the highborn lady she’s secretly smitten with, more than her mission is at stake...
Bluestocking Miss Philippa York doesn’t believe in love. Her cold heart didn't pitter-patter when she was betrothed to a duke, nor did it break when he married someone else. All Philippa desires is to rescue her priceless manuscript and decode its clues to unmask a villain. She hates that she needs a man's help—so she’s delighted to discover the clever, charming baron at her side is in fact a woman. Her cold heart... did it just pitter-patter?
Mrs. Martin’s Incomparable Adventure
by Courtney Milan
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.96
Mrs. Bertrice Martin—a widow, some seventy-three years young—has kept her youthful-ish appearance with the most powerful of home remedies: daily doses of spite, regular baths in man-tears, and refusing to give so much as a single damn about her Terrible Nephew.
Then proper, correct Miss Violetta Beauchamps, a sprightly young thing of nine and sixty, crashes into her life. The Terrible Nephew is living in her rooming house, and Violetta wants him gone.
Mrs. Martin isn’t about to start giving damns, not even for someone as intriguing as Miss Violetta. But she hatches another plan—to make her nephew sorry, to make Miss Violetta smile, and to have the finest adventure of all time.
If she makes Terrible Men angry and wins the hand of a lovely lady in the process? Those are just added bonuses.
The Widow’s Modiste
by Renee Dahlia
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.5
A bored widow, an incredible dress, and a modiste with a secret.
Jacinda Dexington wants to take her modiste shop to the haut ton, so when a client gives her tickets to the Soho Club’s Contrary Gods masquerade ball, she wears the outfit herself. It’s a sensation and everyone wants to know who created it. But only one person offers her refreshments… and a little bit more.
Lady Merryam, widowed and bored, only attends the Soho Club’s latest ball to help raise funds for her son’s orphanage. The last she expects is a one night stand with the mysterious woman wearing ‘that’ dress. Could spending more time with her be the answer to her ennui?
The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics
by Olivia Waite
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.0
As Lucy Muchelney watches her ex-lover’s sham of a wedding, she wishes herself anywhere else. It isn’t until she finds a letter from the Countess of Moth, looking for someone to translate a groundbreaking French astronomy text, that she knows where to go. Showing up at the Countess’ London home, she hoped to find a challenge, not a woman who takes her breath away.
Catherine St Day looks forward to a quiet widowhood once her late husband’s scientific legacy is fulfilled. She expected to hand off the translation and wash her hands of the project—instead, she is intrigued by the young woman who turns up at her door, begging to be allowed to do the work, and she agrees to let Lucy stay. But as Catherine finds herself longing for Lucy, everything she believes about herself and her life is tested.
While Lucy spends her days interpreting the complicated French text, she spends her nights falling in love with the alluring Catherine. But sabotage and old wounds threaten to sever the threads that bind them. Can Lucy and Catherine find the strength to stay together or are they doomed to be star-crossed lovers?
Note: This kicks off a whole series of lesbian historical romances!
A Little Light Mischief
by Cat Sebastian
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.68
Lady’s maid Molly Wilkins is done with thieving—and cheating and stabbing and all the rest of it. She’s determined to keep her hands to herself, so she really shouldn’t be tempted to seduce her employer’s prim and proper companion, Alice. But how can she resist when Alice can’t seem to keep her eyes off Molly?
For the first time in her life, Alice Stapleton has absolutely nothing to do. The only thing that seems to occupy her thoughts is a lady’s maid with a sharp tongue and a beautiful mouth. Her determination to know Molly’s secrets has her behaving in ways she never imagined as she begins to fall for the impertinent woman.
When an unwelcome specter from Alice’s past shows up unexpectedly at a house party, Molly volunteers to help the only way she knows how: with a little bit of mischief.
Letters to Her Love
by Katherine Grant (me)
Arriving February 9th!
They are writing their love story one letter at a time…
Louisa Hoggart is about to leave Northfield Hall. Her charge, Miss Caroline Preston, is fully grown and hardly needs a governess anymore. Even more exciting, Louisa plans to move to London as a children’s author. She just has one major task help Miss Preston host her first house party.
Opera singer Elena Zilio accepts her invitation to the Northfield Hall house party for the free room and board. She also hopes to find a new protector for herself and her eight-year-old daughter. When she hears Louisa Hoggart will be at the party, she is excited to reconnect with an old acquaintance.
It doesn’t take long for sparks to fly between the two women. Yet what Louisa recognizes as attraction, Elena labels as friendship.
Armed with nothing but her pen and big dreams for the future, can Louisa convince Elena to take a chance on the feelings swirling between them?