I moved from the US to England because I fell in love with the Victorians’ peculiar blend of glamour and grime. After a decade of exploring historical excesses in a prim scholarly fashion, I realized that fiction is the best way to delve into that period’s great female-focused and LGBT+ stories. Weaned on the high-seas romances of the 1990s, I’ve lost none of my love for cross-dressing cabin boys but any tolerance for boorish heroes. I’m delighted to now have a whole raft of quirky and queer characters to cheer for on their quest for Happily Ever After. I frequently break off writing for an Earl Grey tea (milk not lemon).