(Rounded from 3.5)

I regularly talk about the importance of story and storytelling as a means of understanding what it means to be human, and I also have an interest in and gone on ad nauseum about the relationship between queer identity and genre fiction, especially horror. Which is all to say, this should be like catnip for me… and yet I finished feeling a little wanting.

Let’s start with the good, and there is a lot of it. Firstly, in just broad strokes, the writing style is fun. It is smooth and very readable, conveying historical research with a confidence that combines with a few little personal flourishes here and there that keep the tone light and fun. It never felt like a stuffy lecture, and always kept me engaged. That’s not always easy in a nonfiction book that covers as much material as this one without having a strong central narrative or character; it could easily have become a dry textbook, and that never happened.

I like his broad exploration of what it means to be folklore. The idea that all story and story telling are valid and important, whether that be in myth or art or campfire stories or video games. The ways he navigated some contemporary material was what bothered me a little, which I will get to below, but the respect he gave for the broad category of storytelling and the role it plays in shaping cultural identity was wonderful.

Sacha Coward is a researcher and historian, and that shows. I really enjoyed all of the actual historical research that was done. He was very conscious of the fact that current ideas of gender and sexuality that are wrapped up in the idea of queer identity are not entirely mappable across time and space, and to impute contemporary labels on other cultures could easily become acts of historical appropriation and orientalism. With this in mind he does a great job of exploring how ways of being in the world influenced the stories that were told, and the deities and monsters found in those stories.

The research I thought was great. But this isn’t just about presenting research. This combines research with contemporary ideas and identities, and tries to draw lines between (ancient) story and (contemporary) reality. Obviously I see the value in this, but these sections always just felt remarkably anecdotal to me. They felt really light, like simple handpicked observations that seem like they are supporting the historical research but really might just run parallel to it. For example, the connection between the gender politics of witchcraft and witch hunts with marginalized queer identity and then young queer kids who are/were obsessed with the films “The Craft” or “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” just felt remarkably tenuous and not particularly enlightening. This is magnified by the fact that sometimes, especially in the first section, he is looking at queer representation and participation in ancient society through mythological beings. But as he moves on to other types of story-land creatures, he is sometimes talking less about the monsters and more about the individuals who wrote their stories. So, this historical excavation gets messy, sometimes focusing not on the representation in shared mythological history but instead individual creators celebrated for creating certain types of the fantastical. There is utility in seeing how queer folks write themselves in and through their stories in ways that make marginalized identities appealing to the masses, but that isn’t the same thing as mythological or monstrous or fantastical beings being queer-coded or imbued with queer spirit at a societal level. They are both valid avenues of exploration, but they aren’t the same. So, as we got into the second and third sections of the book some of what the historical project was trying to do got messy (even when the historical information was interesting and clearly well-researched). Combine that with what felt like remarkably anecdotal and sometimes thin, surface-level contemporary resonance and it felt like it lost a lot of its bite.

I did appreciate the way it ended, and I almost think the final section would have worked better at the beginning, to help shape the whole project. Coward identifies five archetypal traits that connect queer identity to the monstrous and fantastic. He explains each of them, noting that none of them are the sole domain of queer identity, and some are shared but various marginalized identities, and that not all queer folk will feel like they seem themselves in all five, but there is something unique in the way these five archetypes overlap that speak to the historical, classical, and contemporary queer experiences. This I think is powerful, whether you agree with his assessment 100% or not, and if the historical research was done more explicitly unpacking these five archetypes, instead of using them as summation at the end, then maybe I would have felt less put off by what felt like hand-wavey, anecdotal connections to contemporary experience, and so on.

This was a pretty massive undertaking, and it felt that in the effort to make it as robust and pertinent as possible it occasionally felt a little too rambling, stretching itself thin and occasionally losing the plot. That said, the research alone was worth it, it is pretty meticulously done and carefully put together, recognizing scholarly subjectivity and respecting the object of study without sacrificing personal interpretation. And, importantly, it was presented in a compelling and engaging manner, never feeling like a dusty lecture hall but instead always feeling light on its feet and with a spring in its step. For that alone I think this is worth it. While some of the contemporary analogues didn’t work for me, (not in that I thought they were wrong, just that I felt there was a pretty huge gap between the research and some of these conclusions/propositions), they still provide an interesting locus for reflection. If nothing else it offers a great tool for us to observe the ways we consume and celebrate art, celebrate and dive into story, and see what kind of cultural and historical antecedents might be participating in that ongoing conversation.

I want to thank the author, the publisher Unbound, and NetGalley, who provided a complimentary eARC for review. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A must read for all.

This creative and fascinating teaching of queer history through mythology and folklores was truly riveting. From dragons and faeries, to demon twinks and aliens, Sacha Coward will take you there. This is an absolute must read for all, regardless of if you identify in the LGBTQIA+ community. I cannot wait for this book to come out, as I know I'll be recommending it to everyone!!!!

As a fellow historian interested in folklore, I cannot overstate the comprehensiveness of Coward's work in "Queer as Folklore." From current popular culture through ancient legend, Coward take the time to truly unpack folklore and legends through the queer historical lens. While these figures do stand alone outside of queer history, their stories are inextricably linked as Coward shows. Figures that I, as a queer person, have idealized and taken a personal interest in colloquially and professionally are covered with thorough dedication.

For fans of "Women and Other Monsters" by Jess Zimmerman, Coward blends his own story with the factual history of folklore. The prose is engaging and exciting to read and the images and artwork are thoughtful and stunning. Thank you to NetGalley and Sacha Coward for the beautiful experience of this ARC.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'Queer as Folklore' by Sacha Coward.

'Queer As Folklore' is a non-fiction travelling through time, revealing the hidden - and very queer of course - history of multiple different Folklore elements. You can see how passionate Coward is towards this book and it radiates through every page. I'm really fussy with my non fictions hence the 3 star review but it is truly a fascinating read.

Personally I found it quite difficult to find motivation to read this book. I wasn’t expecting the book to be formatted in such an essay/academic style, while also being speculative and anecdotal. The topic and subject matter is an interesting one I just don’t think it was articulated in the best way. Often we are missing context, not knowing the year/location of a story until near the end of the point-if at all. The author sometimes uses the first names of people and sometimes the surname which is honestly quite confusing and isn’t actually the done thing. My favourite chapter was about mermaids and i definitely learnt somethings, especially with the queer origins of little mermaid, but there were points that could’ve been further explored, not just in this chapter. While other points felt tangential such as model of a triton sculpture being said to be bisexual by his niece? At times it felt like the train of thought was running away from the author and one point ran into the next without enough breathing room. While I’m sure the book was heavily researched (the list of citations at the end proves as much) it felt like a very early draft and like I was peer reviewing someone’s dissertation. Also the amount of exclamation points in this book really was overkill! Minor spoilers for the chapter on unicorns but the excerpt about Venus and Adolphe (her pet unicorn) felt so unnecessary, if it really felt like a necessary addition to the point you could’ve referenced it without me having to read about her wanking a unicorn 🤢 // Overall I felt slightly let down by this book and really hoped for more.
#ad I received this book as an arc for free, however the opinions are my own

I love this! The research and how it is presented was right up my alley. I loved the background to lore that I was familiar with as well as reading about things I just learned of. I would read more from this author.

I pondered for quite a while before writing this review, as I'd really wanted to love this book. However, it just wasn't to be.

Oh, this isn't a terrible book. In fact, I feel it offers an overview at the nuances of European LGBTQIA+ identity that many don't get to experience.

It also explains the content in a user-friendly and open manner rather than drowning the reader in academic linguistics.

However, as a gay woman, this book missed the mark for me because this isn't so much a history in some chapters, but a shoehorning-in of representation and identity, retrospectively.

Not everything in humanity's lore traces back to sexuality. Yes, the LGBTQIA+ communities have spent a significant amount of time in the shadows, but we are not only, or wholly, represented by those very shadows.

Extending the research to be more globally and multicultural in representation would also have been appreciated.

*I received an advance reader copy for free from NetGalley, and I'm voluntarily leaving a review.*

This book does a wonderful job of blending different kinds of folklore into one book. It also nicely blends history and folklore and expertly explores the real-life connections to the stories that build us as a society. The artwork is fantastic and mixes the fantastical and horror elements and captures the elements that tie queerness and folklore together. The book also does an excellent job of teaching new facts and elements about history and folklore for even experienced fans of folklore and history. The writing is interesting and engaging and makes the reading fun.

I am a real sucker for queer allegories in historical texts, so was incredibly excited to see this book pop up and grabbed it with frankly embarrassing speed. I really enjoyed the way these stories were presented, though I did find a couple of the sections dragged on a little much for my liking -- though I am sure there are other readers out there who would enjoy that! It was very much a personal preference thing. A great introductory book if you're seeking to understand how our community has always expressed itself.

This was fun and fascinating, and I appreciate the author's obvious care and consideration, and for utilizing the quotes from people outside of the Eurocentric scope of folklore.

This is such an engaging and well written book. It was a joy to read and I learned so much. Thank you for taking the time to bring together stories I may not have been able to access otherwise

Wonderfully researched, engaging and well-written, Queer as Folklore is a great book which manages to be informative, academic and fun all at once.
I understand the eurocentric coverage due to scope and specialisation and hoping to read a global book by the same author.
4.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This was a really interesting deep dive into folklore and LGBT+ culture, as well as the myths and legends that the queer community associate themselves with. It breaks down the groups by monster rather than by sexuality comparison, which was a fantastic approach, and goes into detail about each monster or myth and where queer people fit in with them.

Some of them were perhaps a little more standout than others - I found that vampires were really good, as was the section on werewolves, however, the one on aliens was a little more lacking. I do think a couple more pieces of context were missing - for instance, there were some undertones of the Frankenstein story of the films that were missed out a bit (but that said, it's hard to cover everything!). There could have also been a little bit more of a look at more of the folk horror influences in queer culture, but nonetheless, this was a really enjoyable book.

A couple of identities were a little less examined than others, which was a bit disappointing too, but it was nice to see some asexual representation in here in part, among some others. I think this is a really important book to have around, particularly if you fall into the bucket of being queer and loving your folklore and myths from a very early age.

A whistlestop tour of millennia of hidden histories and mythologies

In an expansive book that explores folklore in all of its flavours—written, inscribed, pictorial, sculptural and oral—Coward covers a lot of ground, reminding us that the magical donors and monsters of global (mostly Western) folklore are transgressive creatures, and so are we of the queer community. There's a reason we like mermaids and unicorns and the Sea Witch Ursula from Disney's Little Mermaid!

Of course, folklore is a tricksy thing, a difficult thing to define and quantify and possibly a difficult thing to pin down as evidence for queer origins, but Coward makes a good case for it. I would say there are just about enough references to other texts, to research and physical evidence. but there are still pronouncements t here and there without any backing where I wish they had given more of a reasoning, or a quote, or other evidence.

That one thing aside, this is a great guide to other avenues of reading and research, possibly a whole multi-branched universe of research into queer representation in folklore, history, literature, visual art, film and television, theatre and music, gaming—the list is endless.

Four stars for providing such an entertaining roadmap.

A mix of my two loves, queer history and folklore!

An interesting mix of past and present interwoven together from fairytale creatures, Greek mythology to demons across cultures to queer discussion around modern media such as The Exorcist, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Alien.

Very refreshing to read how much queer history actually runs through our fairytales, myths and legends.
Removing the usual ‘they were really good friends’ treatment in other historical works.

All of the sections were excellently written and informative, you can tell a lot of work and research went into this.

The passion from the author came through, feeling more like a discussion rather than a rigid text.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher 5/5 ⭐️

I always love reading about queer history, and this book seemed especially made for me. I found the way the author told their story to be incredibly interesting, and that all the ways in which folklore has been queer to be enlightening. I plan to share this with others and buy multiple copies when it comes out.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy.

This book was exceptional. It navigates the complex hidden links between the mystical creatures we’re all familiar with (mermaids, unicorns, vampires, faeries, etc.) and the queerness inherent in their usage in mythology and literature. It was pleasing to see bisexual and transgender links to mythological creatures being given equal weighting to lesbian and gay representations, as these are often forgotten in these discussions.

This is clearly an academic exploration, but it is written in a more conversational style, thus allowing a much wider audience to access it; the comparisons between historical figures and the myths they helped to create was delivered as if simply sitting around the same dining table, surrounded by friends, with a glass of wine, having a “did you know?” chat about why Ursula was modelled on Divine, rather than feeling as if being lectured to or as if one required a degree-level understanding of Queer Studies to understand.

Highly recommended.

This was great!! You can tell the author knows and loves what he’s writing about. I love when fellow history nerds write about their passions. I learned so much about queer lore and history. I would buy this book and put it on my coffee table. It’s engaging and reads like a book of mythology instead of nonfiction analysis. Fascinating! Funny! 10/10. I highly recommend

I hadn't thought much about the relationship between queerness and folklore, so this has blown my mind in some respects! I loved learning the connection between mermaids and queerness; unicorns and queerness; vampires and queerness and many more. It's certainly going to make me enjoy pride parades on a deeper level. I love learning the origins of words, language and customs, so this book was perfect for me in all sorts of ways. I loved the references to Disney films, Drag Race and the iconic Paris is Burning. I could easily see myself being friends with the author! This is a great read for anyone interested in a fresh perspective on folklore, mythology and storytelling.

CAMP!!!

Queer as Folklore, a nonfiction work exploring fairytales, myths, and legends while revealing the rainbow man behind the curtain.

I found a lot of this book to be very insightful. Italian does read like an academic text and can be hard to get through quickly. Take your time with it and enjoy the connections to myths and present day queerness. All the work that was put in to this shows!

BRILLIANT!

Thank you NetGalley and Unbound for the digital ARC!