Talk:Desire & Decorum, Book 1/@comment-27818075-20181001191506/@comment-36398858-20181011131034

I think the issue is that adding LGBT issues into a time period like this is very difficult to do credibly unless the story is focused around it. For example, author Sarah Waters is famous for writing about LGBT relationships in historical fiction. She takes some liberties but generally she makes it work with the setting (“Fingersmith” is a fantastic book, btw).

However, when it isn’t the book’s primary focus, it almost inevitably feels tacked on and contrived. For us to notice that there is LGBT representation within the story, the main character at least must also know about it, which then brings up the issue of ‘why is our character so open-minded and accepting of something that was both immoral and illegal in her society?’ Bohemians, progressives and renegades have always existed in every era, but they were a non-vocal minority who only aired their opinions within trusted circles of like-minded people.

You could suggest that her mother, an opera singer, may have seen some interesting things backstage and passed her tolerance onto her daughter, but that forces the reader to speculate, which isn’t fair.