From the USA Today bestselling author of DISCO WITCHES OF FIRE ISLAND comes a stunningly beautiful queer love story for fans of Hamnet and THE SONG OF ACHILLES. Inspired by Oscar Wilde’s theory of Shakespeare’s sonnets, THE TWO WILLS explores romance in all its forms, both on the page and between the lines, where no love is ever really lost—especially when you are the “master mistress” of the greatest writer in history.
No matter how hard you try to convince some readers that they are not obligated to read every book that was ever once designated a “classic,” there are some people who just really want to read books that a culture decided everyone has to read at least once. Or maybe they want to read these books because of residual guilt from never quite getting to every book on that summer reading list from childhood. Whatever the case, classic literature still generates interest and book sales, especially in the age of BookTok. So what is a fellow queer reader to do when they want to pick up a classic, but they want to invest in stories in which they see themselves represented?
Well, I am so glad you asked. In roughly the last decade, there has been a surge of books, both for adults and young adults alike, that have reimagined pieces of classic literature from a queer perspective. (The joys of old books entering the public domain, am I right?) Not only do these queer retellings help reinforce the notion that we’ve always been here, but they allow readers young and old to imagine, if just for a novel at a time, what history might have looked like if queer people had always been allowed to exist openly as they are more likely to do in our current century. So, with that in mind, watch your TBR grow before your very eyes with this list of classic books retold with a queer slant.
Peter Darling by Austin Chant
In this transgender reimagining of the one and only boy who never grew up, Peter Pan, author Austin Chant asks us to consider the possibility that Wendy Darling was just an identity that Peter left in the past. When he returns to Neverland as a trans man after 10 long years in reality, Peter is surprised to find that it might not need him as much as he once needed it. But that might not end up actually being true, since Captain James Hook has missed having his old rival around to stir up trouble. When a war breaks out between Peter’s Lost Boys and Hook’s band of pirates, swords and secrets are about to be drawn — and not everyone is prepared for what they might reveal.
The Raven and the Reindeer by T. Kingfisher
In T. Kingfisher’s retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen” (also the source material for Disney’s Frozen), young Kay and Gerta grew up together as children. Although he’s always been rather cold and never paid much attention to her, her crush on him grew throughout the years, culminating in full-blown love by the time they are teenagers. When the Snow Queen suddenly takes Kay away in a flying sleigh pulled by enchanted otters (stay with me here), Gerta knows she must follow them to rescue him. Along the way she meets a witch who charms her, a raven that can speak, a robber girl who she can’t help being captivated by, and a friendly but elderly reindeer. By the time Gerta makes it to Snow Queen’s castle, she must reckon with things about herself that she never thought possible, and if the narrative of true love she was fed as a child is really worth risking everything.
The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo
Nghi Vo cleverly reimagines what seems like one of the most recommended (and frankly overrated) classics of all time, The Great Gatsby, from a queer, Asian American perspective, with a dash of fantasy thrown in. The trifecta! Jordan Baker experiences a rare childhood in the Jazz Age of 1920s America, growing up Asian, adopted, and queer. Even as she has access to money, education, and a ticket to the most exclusive parties of the era, Jordan is still treated as exotic and foreign by her peers, and she learns that money won’t open the most important doors in society if you aren’t white. But soon Jordan learns that she can bend the fabric of society, and reality — in a world where paper is fire, she realizes she can burn the cut paper heart out of a man, if only she can figure out how — so that she might just find her place in the world after all.
Gwen & Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher
In this graphic novel retelling of the days of King Arthur, described as Heartstopper meets A Knight’s Tale, Gwen and Art learn they might have the power to change the course of history, if only they can muster up the bravery. Centuries after the legendary King Arthur’s reign, his descendant Art finds himself betrothed to the smart but biting princess Gwendoline, an agreement that has existed since birth. But the only thing Art and Gwen can agree on these days is how much they can’t stand each other. When they’re forced to spend the summer together in Camelot in order to warm up to each other leading up to their wedding, everything Art and Gwen thought they knew about each other changes within 24 hours. Gwen may have caught Art kissing a boy, but she might be the pot calling the kettle black when Art discovers diary entries declaring her love for Bridget Leclair, the kingdom’s only female knight. Deciding they’re better off as allies instead of enemies, Art and Gwen cover for each other as things in the kingdom start to get even more a) gay and b) complicated.
Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa
Another trans retelling, this time of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Oliver Bennet feels trapped by society in 1812 London, where he’s forced to curtsy and wear corsets, let alone skirts and petticoats. The thing you need to understand is that the world and most of the people Oliver knows think he is a girl named Elizabeth, which means that everyone expects him to make appearances at lavish parties, dance with other men and potential suitors, and eventually achieve what appears to be his only goal in life: becoming someone’s wife. Feeling suffocated by his life, Oliver relishes the rare moments when he can escape to the city dressed as his authentic self. It’s there that he first meets an embittered young man called Darcy, who had been rude to “Elizabeth” at a stuffy social function. But out in public, away from their world’s prying eyes, Oliver and Darcy are free to be themselves, and Oliver starts to realize that Darcy is actually quite the catch. As they spend more time with each other and Oliver as his true self, he starts to think living openly as a man might one day be possible — until his family starts to grow increasingly more impatient, and desperate, for “Elizabeth” to take a husband, forcing Oliver to make the ultimate choice.
My Dear Henry by Kalynn Bayron
Where better than to end during the other half of the 19th century, where two teen boys grapple with shifting identities (figuratively and literally) in this queer reimagining of the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In 1885 London, 17-year-old Gabriel Utterson tries to succeed in his job as a law clerk while escaping the shadow of a scandal that left his life and that of his best friend, Henry Jekyll, in shambles and led to their expulsion from the London Medical School. The true nature of Gabriel and Henry’s relationship has been the subject of London gossip for years, and now Gabriel has the chance to rewrite his story. But try as he might, Gabriel can’t move forward without Henry, who has started to change from the boy he knew. Even more cold and distant than before, Henry has turned unresponsive to the letters Gabriel was sending, so Gabriel decides to uncover the truth behind his friend’s disappearance. That’s when Gabriel meets Hyde, a young man with white hair who seems mysteriously familiar. He claims to also be close friends with Henry, igniting a jealous flame inside Gabriel. But Gabriel is about to learn that nothing in life, and especially not in the spooky fog of Victorian London, is ever what it seems. The original Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is also steeped in queer subtext, often interpreted by literary scholars as representing “the necessarily double life of the Victorian homosexual.”
What are some of your favorite classic queer retellings?
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