Connie Wilkins eagerly read the GLBT speculative fiction anthologies in the Bending the Landscape series, but volumes on fantasy, science fiction, and horror were not followed by a collection of GLBT alternate history ― until now. In Time Well Bent, Wilkins collects 14 original all-historical stories from the point of view of gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered characters, to fill this void in speculative queer fiction.
Alternative history is that branch of fiction in which a pivotal event in the past is changed, altering everything that comes after to some degree. The point of change from our history is the focus of these stories, but each tale is followed by a brief author‘s note that provides a little background and speculation on the effects of the divergence.
My favorite of the stories, Dale Chase’s “A Matter of Choice,” reimagines Thomas Jefferson as a gay man determined to include same-sex marriage in the Bill of Rights. “Great Reckonings, Little Rooms,” by Catherine Lundoff, involves twins, mistaken identities, and collaboration between great gay playwright Christopher Marlowe and Shakespeare‘s unsung sister, Judith. “A Happier Year,” by Emily Salter, posits that E.M. Forster published Maurice soon after completing it in 1914 ― to the comfort of soldiers in the fields of Flanders ― consequently starting the emergence of modern GLBT culture a generation earlier. M.P. Ericson’s “A Spear Against the Sky,” considers what might have been had two great British leaders, Cartimandua and Boudicca, been lesbian lovers united against the Romans.
This anthology contains several other high-quality, thought-provoking stories. My only complaint is that bisexual and transgender alternate histories are given short shrift. I recommend this book for public and high school libraries, and academic libraries with science fiction or GLBT literature collections.
Reviewed by, John Bradford
Head, Automation & Technical Services
Villa Park Public Library Librarian