Book (well, Novella) Review: Point of Knives - Melissa Scott

Having recently picked up the third novel in the Astreiant series (Fair’s Point) I realized that I had somehow missed the Novella Point of Knives that fits between the first two books in the series. This has now been corrected. (When I started reading, I suddenly wondered if I’d simply forgotten that I’d read it, but realized that I’d heard the opening at an author reading, probably at Darkovercon.)

I love Scott’s writing style--especially the way the world of Astreiant is unfolded for us on a need-to-know basis, as if the reader were exploring a dark warehouse with a flashlight. I have an inordinate fondness for world-building that plunges in and simply expects me to keep up. The setting is Renaissancey in feel, both in terms of tech and social politics, with the interesting twist that political and economic power is dominated by women. (This is never explained--that wouldn’t fit with the exposition style--it simply “is”.) But there are plenty of clues that we’ve stepped entirely out of the world we know, in particular the way the astrology (which has great social importance) relies on the movements of an entirely different set of heavenly bodies than ours.

But this is all by-the-by. What we have is, in essence, a bit of a mystery, a bit of police procedural, and a bit of romance. The police-equivalent Nicholas Rathe once again finds himself investigating a crime in which his one-time lover Philip Eslingen is entangled. This time it involves murdered sailors and missing smuggled gold. If I had one complaint about the writing, it would be that the reader rather gets hammered over the head with the reasons why Rathe and Eslingen struggle to keep their emotional distance (if not, as the story evolves, their physical distance). Both characters seem to spend an inordinate amount of interior monologue reminding themselves of these reasons.

The crime plot itself proceeds quickly, though not entirely predictably. This is not the sort of whodunnit where the reader can guess ahead to the outcome. Too many of the forces and factors in play are part of the alien setting and hard to evaluate. The most suspicious figure turns out, indeed, to be the culprit, though the specific motivations seem to get lost in the shuffle and several clue-threads are dropped without resolution. The personal relationship between the two men is delightfully real and engaging, and we’re left for the set-up (seen in the earlier-written but later-in-timeline Point of Dreams) where they are free to have a more open partnership.

As an aside that has nothing to do with this specific story: I confess to a wistful desire to have Scott write some Astreiant stories about women. Given the gender politics of the setting, there must be a lot of intriguing possibilities. There are plenty of minor female characters, but the series is clearly all about the men.

Lesbian Historic Motif Project: Special feature - late 19th century sources

I'm always happy to look at specific topics in response to requests, although the result may be no more than a jumble of citations. This current post is in response to an interest in Gilded Age San Francisco.

The “Gilded Age” covers roughly the last quarter of the 19th century and, as a historical period, refers specifically to the United States. This bibliography ranges a bit farther afield, however, taking in English sources as well, to provide a broader cultural context. (And because I don’t have as many US-specific works.) None of these sources specifically address the west coast, though there is western material in several of the general studies. Lillian Faderman has some excellent and detailed studies of California lesbian culture in the 20th century, but none extends far enough back to be relevant here.

There is undoubtedly much more material available than this, especially if one digs through the bibliographies of these publications. Since my own interests tend to fall earlier than this period (and tend to be more focused on Europe), I haven't done as much follow-up from these general works.

General

Donoghue, Emma. 2010. Inseparable: Desire Between Women in Literature. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. ISBN 978-0-307-27094-8

(See also my detailed entry for this work via the cumulative link-index.) Coverage of the late 19th century appears across several of the theme-based chapters. This study looks specifically at portrayals of lesbians in literature.

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Faderman, Lillian. 1981. Surpassing the Love of Men: Romantic Friendship and Love between Women from the Renaissance to the Present. William Morrow and Company, Inc., New York. ISBN 0-688-00396-6

A somewhat dated, but still valuable general study. Scholarly and well-footnoted but aimed at a general audience. The chapter on the 19th century comprises about one-third of the book

USA

Faderman, Lillian. 1999. To Believe in Women: What Lesbians Have Done for America - A History. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York. ISBN 0-395-85010-X

A series of biographical studies covering the later 19th and very early 20th century. Women who were politically and socially active and whose personal lives were instrumental in motivating their activism.

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The History Project. 1998. Improper Bostonians: Lesbian and Gay History from the Puritans to Playland. Beacon Press, Boston. ISBN 0-8070-7948-0

Biographies of both the famous and non-famous, copiously illustrated when possible. Substantial material from the later 19th century, the heyday of “Boston Marriages”.

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Rupp, Leila J. 1999. A Desired Past: A Short History of Same-Sex Love in America. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago. ISBN 0-226-73155-3

Much like her book Sapphistries in its anecdotal survey format, but focused specifically on the U.S. and not restricted to women. Relatively little material in the target period, but a few very detailed anecdotes and biographies.

England

Marcus, Sharon. 2007. Between Women: Friendship, Desire, and Marriage in Victorian England. Princeton University Press, Princeton. ISBN 978-0-691-12835-1

A study of close relationships between women in the second half of the 19th century, ranging from friendship to marriage-like permanent relationships. Somewhat dense and very scholarly but incorporating a great deal of primary material.

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Oram, Alison & Annmarie Turnbull. 2001. The Lesbian History Sourcebook: Love and Sex Between Women in Britain from 1780 to 1970. Routledge, New York. ISBN 0-415-11485-3

This sourcebook is organized thematically, with three main sections: lesbian archetypes, professional commentaries (medicine, education, and law), and cultural contexts. Within those sections, the entries are organized chronologically. Only about 16 entries fall within the second half of the 19th century.