Author: Read with Pride

readwithpride.com Behind the towering walls of Topkapi Palace, where power and passion intertwined like the arabesques decorating its halls, the Ottoman sultans ruled one of history’s most magnificent empires. But there’s another story woven into those silk curtains and marble corridors: one of desire, devotion, and the complex relationships between powerful men and their beautiful …

Under the Turban: The Discreet Loves of the Ottoman CourtRead More

readwithpride.com When we talk about grand gestures in gay romance novels, we think of dramatic declarations, stolen kisses in the rain, maybe a cross-country dash to the airport. But Emperor Hadrian? This man literally founded a city, created a god, and established a religion for his deceased lover. Try topping that in your next MM …

The Emperor’s Mourning: Hadrian and AntinousRead More

readwithpride.com When we talk about epic love stories that defied convention, we usually think of Romeo and Juliet or some sweeping MM romance novel. But honey, let me tell you about a real-life romance that was so intense, so all-consuming, and so scandalous that it literally brought down a kingdom. Welcome to the story of …

Royal Favor: The Bond of Edward II and Piers GavestonRead More

readwithpride.com When we talk about queer history, we often think of hidden love letters, coded language, and relationships buried in historical footnotes. But King James I of England? He wasn’t exactly subtle about his affection for George Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham. In fact, their relationship was so open that James literally stood up at …

The King’s Minion: James I and George VilliersRead More

readwithpride.com When we talk about LGBTQ+ history, we often focus on the modern era, Stonewall, Pride parades, marriage equality. But queer love stories have existed for millennia, even in the most unlikely places. Like, say, the British monarchy in the early 1700s. The relationship between Queen Anne of Great Britain and Sarah Churchill, Duchess of …

Power and Passion: Queen Anne and Sarah ChurchillRead More

readwithpride.com When we think of 18th-century Prussian royalty, we usually imagine stuffy portraits, military campaigns, and powdered wigs. But beneath the crown of Frederick the Great: one of history’s most formidable rulers: beat a heart that yearned for something his father’s court would never allow: the freedom to love whom he chose. Long before Frederick …

The Philosopher King: Frederick the Great’s Secret HeartRead More

readwithpride.com There’s something haunting about a king who builds fairytale castles but can’t find his own happy ending. Ludwig II of Bavaria, the “Mad King,” the “Swan King,” the “Fairytale King”, spent his life creating architectural masterpieces while drowning in isolation that no amount of turrets or gold leaf could cure. His story isn’t just …

Swan Song: The Loneliness of Ludwig II of BavariaRead More

readwithpride.com Long before modern debates about love and labels, two men stood side by side and changed the world. Alexander the Great and Hephaestion weren’t just king and general, they were partners in every sense that mattered. Their story has survived over 2,300 years, whispered through history books and carved into monuments, a testament to …

Companions in Conquest: Alexander and HephaestionRead More

readwithpride.com Long before rainbow flags and pride parades, there was Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, a man who refused to tone down his fabulousness for anyone, not even his brother, the Sun King himself. Known simply as “Monsieur” (because when you’re that iconic, you only need one name), Philippe lived his queer truth so openly …

Versailles’ Flamboyance: Philippe I, Duke of OrléansRead More

readwithpride.com When the King Had Two Favorites History loves to play it straight, literally. Royal biographies are full of convenient omissions, strategic silences, and the erasure of anything that doesn’t fit the heteronormative narrative. But every once in a while, the truth is so obvious that even centuries of whitewashing can’t completely hide it. Enter …

The King’s Confidant: William III and His FavoritesRead More

readwithpride.com Look, when someone tells you there’s nothing new under the sun when it comes to queer history, just point them toward Benedetta Carlini. This seventeenth-century Italian abbess was out here having mystical visions, running a convent like a boss, and carrying on a passionate love affair with another nun, all while the Catholic Church …

Improper Acts: The Life and Loves of Benedetta CarliniRead More

readwithpride.com History has a funny way of trying to hide the queer stories, doesn’t it? We’re told that medieval convents were these austere, silent places where women dedicated their lives solely to God. But tucked away in dusty manuscripts and hidden in the margins of ancient texts, there’s a different story, one filled with longing, …

Love in the Cloister: The Secret Letters of Medieval NunsRead More

readwithpride.com Let’s talk about something that doesn’t get nearly enough attention in LGBTQ+ history: the nunnery. Yeah, you heard that right. Behind those ancient stone walls and beneath those modest habits, countless queer women found something radical, freedom. For centuries, when society demanded that every woman must marry a man, bear his children, and submit …

Safe Havens: Nunneries as Sanctuaries for Queer LoveRead More

readwithpride.com Imagine being trapped in a convent at fifteen, your entire life mapped out by your family, prayers, silence, and a lifetime of servitude. Now imagine saying “absolutely not” and breaking out to become one of the most legendary soldiers in Spanish colonial history. That’s exactly what Catalina de Erauso did in 1607, and her …

Beyond the Habit: The Bold Life of Catalina de ErausoRead More

readwithpride.com Picture this: It’s 1760, and Denis Diderot just penned one of the most scandalous novels about convent life that would make even modern readers blush. The Nun (La Religieuse) wasn’t just another tale of religious devotion gone wrong, it was a full-blown exposé of forbidden lesbian desires, psychological torture, and the hypocrisy festering behind …

Forbidden Desires: The Reality Behind Diderot’s ‘The Nun’Read More

readwithpride.com Behind the thick stone walls of 17th-century Spanish convents, where silence was golden and obedience was law, women found ways to love each other. These weren’t just friendships: they were intense, passionate bonds that the Church nervously called “particular friendships.” And when Sister Feliciana de San Jose’s relationships with her fellow nuns caught the …

Under the Inquisition: The Trials of Sister FelicianaRead More

readwithpride.com Behind the stone walls and stained glass windows of Victorian convents, something fascinating was happening. While society outside obsessed over propriety and scandal, nuns were forming deep, emotionally charged bonds that today we’d recognize as intensely romantic: yet at the time were simply called “particular friendships.” These relationships existed in a fascinating gray area …

Victorian Veils: Romantic Friendships in the ConventRead More

readwithpride.com Behind the cloistered walls of convents around the world, something remarkable has been happening. Women who dedicated their lives to God have been discovering another kind of devotion, one that doesn’t fit neatly into the vows they took. These are the stories of modern ex-nuns who left their religious orders to pursue the women …

Leaving the Order: Modern Love Stories of Ex-NunsRead More