Donoghue, Emma. 1995. Passions Between Women: British Lesbian Culture 1668-1801. Harper Perennial, New York. ISBN 0-06-017261-4

This book will always hold a special place in my heart in the context of researching pre-modern lesbianism because it was the first major work I’d encountered that challenged the prevailing wisdom that there was no self-awareness, self-identity, or organized community among women who desired other women before (roughly speaking) the 20th century. This was the book that convinced me it was possible to write pre-modern historic lesbian fiction that did not consist of isolated and confused coming-out stories or ahistorical modern sensibilities. For that reason, I am delighted to have saved Passions Between Women to mark this milestone of the Lesbian Historic Motif Project.