L. Timmel Duchamp made her first fiction sale in 1989. Since then her short stories have appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines. She has been a finalist for the Sturgeon, Homer, and Nebula awards and has been short-listed three times for the James Tiptree, Jr. Memorial Award. Her column, "What's the Story?" appears regularly in Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet. Interested readers may find an ample selection of her critical writing as well as a few of her stories at .
Love’s Body, Dancing in Time offers five love stories by the critically acclaimed L. Timmel Duchamp, stories only she could tell. Carnal and queer, intricate and involved, they range from the heart-breaking Sturgeon Award finalist "Dance at the Edge" and the historically authentic, Tiptree short-listed "The Apprenticeship of Isabetta di Pietro Cavazzi," to the subtle, original "The Heloise Archive," in which the rewriting of the eleventh-century abbess’s life story dramatically alters the course of European history. Like all of Duchamp’s work, this fiction is passionate, feminist, and intelligent.
Duchamp's five unusual, provocative love stories featuring strong, memorable heroines can haunt a reader long after the last page is turned. In "Dance at the Edge," Emma Persimmon doggedly pursues the woman of her dreams, a dedicated physicist with the uncanny ability to see other realities. "The Gift" explores gender and human existence beyond the strictures of the male-female model. "The Apprenticeship of Isabetta di Pietro Cavazzi" acquaints us with an unusually talented servant girl, who discovers her strength and power in woman-magic. Dark and compelling, "Lord Enoch's Revels" fairly bleeds upon the page, mirroring the anguish of its protagonist, Sybil. "The Heloise Archive" retells the tragic story of Heloise and Abelard but includes Heloise's regular visitation by the angel Nuntia, come to purge Christ's message of the church's drastic alterations of it over the centuries; in the end--a real corker--the history of Europe is radically changed. Each tale is a polished gem, reflecting human nature in all its goodness and ugliness and inviting deeper inspection of cherished belief systems and reexploration of the big questions of relationships with ourselves, others, and God. Supremely intelligent and confident, Duchamp infuses her consistently sensual prose with mystery and beauty. Moreover, it is unpredictable--so emotionally and conceptually multifaceted that there is no fast track through one of her stories. Paula Luedtke
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