Lesbian Romances by Cassandra Barnes
Secret Love: A Synopsis
Carmen La Pierre certainly never expected to meet Rose, or anyone like her at Jiffy's Seven-Eleven. She never imagined her way too small backwater rural town included anyone so vibrant and exuberant as Rose Oliver. She, sometimes, was everything Carmen was not. Rose, being so much younger than Carmen, was still interested in the hard work it took to raise riding horses, keep a milk cow, mow her own hay. And, most of all, she owned a spanking new, lipstick red, Mustang convertible. Now that they had met, where would this new friendship take them? They both knew that much - that they had become friends. Both women were hoping for more. . .much more.
The Girl King: Queen Christina of Sweden
Queen Christina of Sweden reigned in the middle 1600's. She was raised as a boy and had several lesbian affairs during her lifetime. The movie is said to have embellished history, but that is conjecture. The lead role of the Queen is played by Swedish actress, Malin Kristina Buska. According to the film, the Queen abdicated after she was forced away from a lady-in-waiting, Ebba Sparre, with whom she was in love. Also, Descartes was a close friend of the Queen and a confidant. He was purportedly poisoned while staying near her royal court - or, contracted pneumonia. He died in Sweden.
After these two traumas to her life, she abdicated the throne in favor of her cousin. She had also refused to marry, so there would have been no heir, which was important to her politics. She traveled to Italy and is said to have met other female lovers there. Although, she continued to write to Ebba for many years.
The private life of the Queen is also fuzzy, since there obviously might be some reason to keep things out of public view. It seems, though, that Queen Christina and Ebba Sparre (also called Belle, who was known for her beauty) are generally assumed to have been lovers. Belle lived with Christina after her husband died, but Belle and Christina were separated when Queen Christina abdicated (probably due to not wanting to marry a man.) This diverges from the movie. There is also some historical speculation that Queen Christina was intersex.