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[jenett]

Of Charles' books with more fantasy elements with particular comment about the queer romance, historical anchoring, and how the secrets of the characters play into the books.

(It was originally published in late 2018, so you may have seen it before, but I figured it was worth having in the community.)

I particularly like this quote:

The focus on queer relationships allows her to highlight how systems of oppression can sometimes be “beneficial” (in giving the protagonists a secret no one knows about, something their enemies don’t anticipate), but mostly complicate magical lives and make everything more dangerous in a setting that’s firmly grounded in real history.

Comments

[vae]

Oh, I remember reading this! It's such a lovely article.

The wonderful thing about Charles’ writing is that it’s grounded in a very mundane, well-researched atmosphere, where British society is complex and layered and the weight of history is felt throughout. But at the same time her stories are whimsical and cheerful, dealing with people who’ve been through terrible things but still find a way to carry on, reconciling not only their secret superpowers but their queerness with the social norms of the age.