Time again for one of the most challenging recommendation features we have: READY, SET, GO!
Here are the rules:
We pick a specific sub-genre, trope, or type of romance, and we have to make ONE recommendation for that type.
And no more than two sentences as to why.
Just One.
And our theme this month?
This month: Historical Women in Trousers!
Once spotted regularly in old skool romances where the back cover copy used words like “hoyden” or “hellion,” or perhaps lurking in stories featuring Sad Historical Businessmen, the Historical Women in Trousers wear, well, trousers.
Maybe they’ve eschewed tradition, maybe it’s wardrobe shorthand for an assortment of traits (see above, re: hoydenish hellions) or maybe they’re challenging gender limitations or assignments. They’ve got a pair of trousers and they wear them.
Your challenge: Name one book that you recommend that fits this type.
What Romance Featuring Historical Women in Trousers Would you Recommend?
Any genre, but just one rec!
Ready, set, GO!
Sarah: I won’t even go first so you have ample titles to choose from.
Tara: Can they be passing as a man?
Sarah: For sure, yes. Only requirement is historical, trousers.
Tara: Well then, mine is The Covert Captain by Jeannelle M. Ferreira.
It has a woman who’s been passing by a man for a damn long time and was a Captain who fought for England against France. She falls for the sister of her former commanding officer and there’s a very big, “Oh, whoa, how is this going to go when the sister finds out?”
Turns out, it goes very well in the end.
Claudia: Definitely plenty to choose from although this theme is hit-or-miss for me; I waffle between buying it and not and almost prefer when the disguise is obvious to begin with.
I’ll go with Sea Change by Darlene Marshall, with bonus points for being set on a tall ship and the caveat that I read it a while back and I’m unsure if it stands the test of time.
Sarah: That book was a Smart Bitches Book Club selection back in 2011 (OH MY GOSH TEN YEARS AGO WHAT IS TIME)! Good choice, there.
Shana: I feel like if we’re doing women in pants, we should do men in skirts next. This has nothing to do with my feelings about kilts.
Sarah: Agreed.
Shana: I have a soft spot for Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover by Sarah MacLean.
Part of the pleasure is reading the first few books in the series, and discovering that the mysterious owner of a famous gaming club is secretly a woman.
Shana: I also feel like there’s a LOT of Beverly Jenkins books with heroines in pants.
Sarah: Definitely – that was going to be one of my picks.
Lara: The Duke Undone by Joanna Lowell features an art student who wears pants. She’s a secondary character, but I loved her so much!
Sarah: Ok, so my pick has Historical Woman in Trousers on the cover! It’s almost like cheating.
Beverly Jenkins’ latest book, Wild Rain, features Spring, a woman who “runs her own ranch, wears denim pants instead of dresses, and is the most fascinating woman [Colton’s] ever met.”
*fans self* I do love a story where the heroine has to be convinced that changing her plans and adding a romantic partnership to her life isn’t a terrible idea (though it is often a pain in the ass).
I’m also a total jerkbundle because this book isn’t out until 9 February 2021, but it’s lovely and full of *sigh* competence.
What about you? What historical romance featuring a heroine in trousers would you recommend? Remember: ONE REC. JUST ONE.
Ready, set, go!
I just read Cold Hearted Rake by Lisa Kleypas, and the heroine is a widow and and astonishing horse woman. Her drunk husband was killed when he tried to ride her partially trained horse, which she feels responsible for. Anyway she wears pants when horse training though not at other times.
Amelia Peabody by Elizabeth Peters which is a bit of a cheat b/c it’s a series. Amelia is a 19th century to early 20th century Egyptologist with a swash-buckling husband and they solve mysteries and go on adventures together.
Fair warning, they were written a while ago and I have no idea how they stand up. They were fun many years ago and Amelia designs her own trousers.
Deanna Raybourn’s Veronica Speedwell feels like a loving homage with some updating for more modern readers.
And that’s not cheating either, b/c I’m just noting an observation not recommending 😉
The heroine of Loretta Chase’s Ten Things I Hate About the Duke wears pants briefly towards the end. I suppose it doesn’t fully fit the prompt, since it’s not a lifestyle choice, but it was such a fun read I’m recommending it anyway.
Julia Quinn’s Minx. Henry putting Dunford through his paces on the farm is hilarious.
A secondary character in Jennifer Asheley’s Below Stairs mystery series (Charlotte? Maybe?) sneaks out at night and dresses as a man.
Patience and Sarah by Isabelle Miller! F/F historical set in 19th C upstate NY and Connecticut, loosely based on a real life self taught artist. It’s old (1970s) but it holds up well and the way it queers and up-ends the “woman in trousers” trope is so delightful!
Not actually a romance (although it does have a qualified HEA), but my first thought was Sarah Waters’s TIPPING THE VELVET: the heroine (a lesbian in late-Victorian England) spends a lot of time in men’s clothing (sometimes passing as a man). One thing I really enjoyed about the book is how Waters shows that, outside of the wealthy, clothes were often just a matter of what a person could find to wear, regardless of the wearer’s gender.
Almost A Gentleman by Pam Rosenthal! Heroine becomes a dandy after being widowed and is one of the only examples of the trope I’ve read in a het romance that comes sooooo close to digging into ideas of gender and the power of being perceived as a man for so many years. Also the H/h are over 30 so everyone is a grown up and it’s just wonderful.
His Valet by S.M. LaViolette. Her clothing as his valet is just as important as his.
Even before Old Skool there was Georgette Heyer’s very early The Masqueraders, in which a brother and sister both are in cross-dressing disguise because reasons. (Not to be confused with False Colours, in which twin brothers are disguised as each other. I always mix them up.)
As I type this, What the Parrot Saw is in the advertising immediately to the right of the Comment box. Sequel to Sea Change, isn’t it?
Adding to the Georgette Heyer women in pants: Penelope Creed meets the hero as she escapes dressed like a boy from her aunt’s house in The Corinthian, and Leonie in These Old Shades starts out as Avon’s page disguised as a boy. Both are great stories. I also recommend The Masqueraders, which is incredibly funny.
I might be misremembering this, but I think Merlin wears pants to do her experiments in Midsummer Moon by Laura Kinsale. If not,it’s stilla wonderful book!
In the fantasy genre, A.J. Lancaster’s Stariel series (starts with Lord of Stariel), Hetta sometimes wears pants for her duties around the estate. The setting has a late Victorian, early Edwardian feel to it.
This is a favorite of mine! I came across it in fantasy as a kid and then when I encountered it in romance and started to really think about it… well it was actually kind of helpful in identifying some gender fluid feelings I had.
I’ll mention a couple fantasy novels that immediately came to mind, since everyone already mentioned my favorite romance examples!
OUTLAWS OF SHERWOOD by Robin McKinley. Cecily, Will Scarlet’s sister runs away to Sherwood to escape a forced marriage and dresses as Cecil. Little John mentors Cecil and starts to love him. So this is not the focus of the story but it was the best part to me. Robin is a little irritating in this book, but I love Cecil and Little John… not really an HEA in this one but a satisfying retelling of the Robin Hood legend.
MAIRELIN THE MAGICIAN by Patricia Wrede. Historical fantasy London where Kim, who started dressing as a boy early on the streets, gets embroiled in an adventure with a member of the college of wizards when someone pays her to steal something from him. Light fluffy, romantic elements.
Ridiculous by D.L. Carter. The heroine crafts her disguise as an odd and rumply man (thereby avoiding a cliche of these stories where the hero realizes it’s a woman because he’s so good at eyeballing asses) who is a big hit in society because he’s funny and also sweet. It’s a fun read.
I’m cheating! I’m not normally a “watcher” (as opposed to a reader), but the first thing that came to mind was Katharine Hepburn in “Woman of the Year.” How wonderful that was. But while I’m off topic: Sarah mentioned in passing a pick years ago for the Smart Bitches book club. Does that still exist? If so, how did I lose track of it? If not, why not??
UNMASKED BY THE MARQUESS by Cat Sebastian has Robert Selby trying to help his sister make an advantageous match. But Robert is actually a house maid named Charity who has been masquerading as Robert for 6 years. In the end, the Marquess and Charity marry and she wears pants whenever she wants.
Also, DUCHESS BY NIGHT by Eloisa James has a rule following duchess tired of following rules, so she disguises herself as a man in order to attend a raucous house party.
Finally RIDICULOUS by D. L. Carter – a comedy of errors. Millicent’s miserly cousin dies and to keep her family from being destitute, she assumes his identity. Everything is going swimmingly until she meets the Duke…
THE LAST HELLION by Loretta Chase! One of her older ones, and one of my favorites. The heroine is a journalist and she disguises herself as a man for an assignment (she wears trousers on at least one other occasion if I remember correctly). She goes back to her friend’s house to change and the hero helps her out with changing back into her regular clothes. It’s a hilarious scene and the banter in the book generally is great.
This is beyond my favorite trope and every one of these recs is an auto read.
Lynsay Sands’ the Switch is my all time favorite lady in trousers.
Lady of the Knight/Morganna by Jackie Ivie
Love this trope. I’ll submit Nearly A Lady by Alissa Johnson. Includes heroine hitting hero with the butt-end of a rifle, knocking him unconscious as a meet-cute.
I loved UNMASKED BY THE MARQUESS by Cat Sebastian but I don’t count it as a woman in trousers since the character in question (Robin/Charity) is non-binary. (It’s still a great book and I HIGHLY recommend it for the way it queers this trope)
Oh I actually have a rec for this one – The Prince of Midnight by Laura Kinsale. It’s been awhile since I read it but I’m not sure the heroine wears a dress until almost the very end (although I believe she is only in a dressing gown during the infamous sex-on-horseback scene).
I love Beatrix in Love in the Afternoon by Lisa Kleypas. She wears pants to chase around and care for various animals including a goat, horse, and hedgehog.
I too love this trope, but sorry Sarah MacLean fans, I hated “Never Judge a Lady By Her Cover”. There was no plot reason for her to be wearing pants.
“Tempest” by Beverly Jenkins has a heroine dressing in blue jeans, so she can do ranch work. She’s not pretending to be a man, it’s just practical. I rate it as very good.
In “Almost a Scandal” by Elizabeth Essex” the heroine is masquerading as a young midshipman in the British Navy. She took her brother’s place when he failed to report for duty. I rate it as excellent.
“His Cavalry Lady” by Joanna Maitland is another woman pretending to be male, in the military, and loosely based on a real person. This one’s on my TBR, I haven’t read it yet.
“Duke of Pleasure” by Elizabeth Hoyt has a sword-fighting heroine who masquerades as a male. Good, but not one of my favorite Maiden Lane books.
“The Prince” by Katherine Ashe. Here the heroine is disguising herself as a man so she can attend medical school. This book was AMAZING, I loved it!
And a couple of oldies: “The Rake” by Mary Jo Putney, another heroine wearing pants for practicality, not to disguise herself, and “My Lady Notorious” by Jo Beverly has some fun cross-dressing scenes by the hero and heroine. Both of these are excellent.
And I’m so sorry, I just realized I was only supposed to make one rec! I was so excited I skipped over the rules and started looking at the recs.
I have just started reading MaryJo Putney’s Once Dishonoured which has a woman in pants on the front cover, but it is too early to know how ut fits into the story.
Grace in Sarah Maclean’s Daring and the Duke wears pant – great kickass heroine.
I’m going to fire up the WABAC Machine and go with Laurie McBain’s MOONSTRUCK MADNESS. McBain was a transitional author. Her heroes were still terribly alpha, but she started to move historical romance away from the rapey consent issues. Sabrina dons the pants to rob the rich after losing her grandfather at Culloden. Dominic is the aristocratic victim who hunts her down. There are evil twins and buried treasure.
I’m am now going home to pull this off the keeper shelf.
THE BRIGHT AND BREAKING SEA by Chloe Neill
fantasy series with romantic undertones (and DUTY MEANS WE CAN’T ROMANCE EACH OTHER, but very repressed, in delightful AU Regency ways
Captain Kit Brightling of HMS Diana wears trousers as part of her uniform, but dons a dress for part of the book. I eagerly await the second novel.
Gentle Rogue by Joanna Lindsey. I think this was the first “cabin boy disguise” book I ever read.
In The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows by Olivia Waite, a beekeeper wears trousers for work purposes; it doesn’t raise eyebrows in her village (due in part to her not being of high social class). Excellent both as a f/f romance and a deep dive into history.
One of my oldest catnips!!!! But I only like it when it’s somehow believable and successful – not the heroine wearing the stable boy’s clothes for one hot minute… Reading Almost a Gentleman by Pam Rosenthal right now.
I second his HIS CAVALRY LADY by Joanna Maitland.
An old time favourite of mine is LADY ALEX’s GAMBLE by Evelyn Richardson – the heroine impersonates her twin brother to gamble the money back that he has lost. This goes way, way back to my early romance reading, and I still love it.
THE LADY’S SECRET by Joanna Chambers – officially not available anymore, but I found it still on Scribd. According to her blog, she is currently reworking it to tie in with one of her other books. Can’t wait!
Stephanie Laurens has a few. I don’t remember names, but one has a horsewoman who marries one of Devil’s cousins. Then there is another one where the heroine captains a ship and has specially tailored leather pants. When Devil’s cousin meets her, she thinks he’s going to be judgy, but he tells her his wife will want to know where she got them so she can have some too. Sure enough, she later meets the wife, and the wife of one of the other guys and they take her aside and ask where they can get leather pants too.
@Jen-His Valet was the one I was going to recommend! That is the book that got me started on this new to me author, I’ve now read all her books and waiting for new ones. She also writes as Minerva Spencer, which are a bit more sedate than the books she writes as S.M. LaViolette. I’ve really enjoyed all of them.
@GradStudentEscapist, THE LAST HELLION is a great read. Like @Karin, I also recommend ALMOST A SCANDAL.
There’s also LADY IN DISGUISE by Wendy Vella, where two sisters dress up as highwaymen and rob coaches. They wind up robbing the hero’s coach. There are a lot of anachronisms, but it’s a fun read.
THE HIDDEN MOON by Jeannie Lin has the heroine dressing up as her brother to carry out an investigation.
MISTRESS FIREBRAND by Donna Thorland has the heroine dress up in breeches during a stage play. There’s a lot about gender conventions – the heroine is reluctant to marry because it means a loss of rights, so I think this fits (and it’s a great read!).
I hit Submit too early – THE HIDDEN MOON is part of the Lotus Palace series and all books in it are excellent.
A little later time period but Laurie King’s books series beginning with The Bee Keeper’s Apprentice. Heroine Mary Russell meets Sherlock Holmes while wearing a suit belonging to her late father. She also dresses and acts like a boy/man in several of their adventures. To be fair Sherlock dresses as a woman in at least one of the books to escape capture. Great series
I loved UNMASKING MISS APPLEBY by Emily Larkin with is kind of historical PNR. The premise is that on her 25th Bday, the heroine will be granted one paranormal power by a Faerie. She’s being mistreated by her relatives, so she wishes for the power of “metamorphosis”, promptly turns herself into a man, heads off to London, and takes a position as a secretary to an Earl whom she then falls in love with. I guess it doesn’t technically fit the brief, since she only wears trousers whenever she’s actually in masculine form, but hey, close enough.
Second plug for Almost A Scandal by Elizabeth Essex! Heroine on a navy ship, dressed as a lad! LOVED it.
Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean.
Joanna Shupe’s The Lady Hellion. The heroine dresses as a man to try and track down a missing girl. She gets challenged to a duel and asks the hero to be her second. I’m going to have to read this one again.
Woot! Thanks for the shout out for SEA CHANGE (High Seas #1). It continues to be my bestselling historical here in the US and in its French edition (À la merci du corsaire).
To answer @Louise’s question, WHAT THE PARROT SAW (High Seas #4) is set a generation after SEA CHANGE and there is a connection between Mattie and the family of the hero and heroine of SEA CHANGE.
My favorite “chicks in breeches” story would be PLAYING THE JACK by Mary Brown. It was marketed as a historical, but not a romance, however if it was published in 1985 and I suspect if it was published today the romantic elements would be front and center in marketing. Has an awesome cover too.