This striking hardback explores the queer themes and characters found throughout time and across continents in folklore.
 
Providing an invaluable and comprehensive look into some of the most famous folkloric figures in history including werewolves, vampires, fairies, mermaids, and much more, Coward demonstrates the ways in which LGBTQ+ themes and characters are a constant in history. In the foreword, Joanne Harris reminds readers that, ‘history and folklore have been almost indistinguishable from each other for millennia, just as myths were once the religions of great and fallen empires.’ The purpose of this statement is to demonstrate how queerness in folklore represents not only the presence, but the significance and undeniability of these themes, communities, and individuals throughout the past and during the present.
 
This book is divided into five parts including:
 
Part 1: Queer Be Dragons (Magical creatures)
1. A Twist in the Tail
2. Horn of Plenty
3. Radical Faeries
 
Part 2: Bad Blood (Cursed beings and shapeshifters)
4. Big Bad Wolves
5. Children of the Night
 
Part 3: Black Magick (The occult and supernatural)
6. Witch-hunts
7. Demon Twinks
8. Queerly Departed
 
Part 4: The Expanded Universe (Contemporary folklore)
9. Loving the Alien
10. Rum, Bum and Concertina
11. I’m Sorry, Dave
12. Ex-Men
 
Part 5: And They All Lived Happily Ever After…
13. Five Magic Beans
 
London: Unbound, 2024. Hardback, 324 pages. New.