A Strange and Stubborn Endurance

Foz Meadows's A Strange and Stubborn Endurance is a sultry political & romantic fantasy exploring gender, identity, and self-worth, with strong LGBTQ themes.

“Stolen me? As well to say a caged bird can be stolen by the sky.”

Velasin vin Aaro never planned to marry at all, let alone a girl from neighboring Tithena. When an ugly confrontation reveals his preference for men, Vel fears he’s ruined the diplomatic union before it can even begin. But while his family is ready to disown him, the Tithenai envoy has a different solution: for Vel to marry his former intended’s brother instead.

Caethari Aeduria always knew he might end up in a political marriage, but his sudden betrothal to a man from Ralia, where such relationships are forbidden, comes as a shock.

With an unknown faction willing to kill to end their new alliance, Vel and Cae have no choice but to trust each other. Survival is one thing, but love—as both will learn—is quite another.

Byzantine politics, lush sexual energy, and a queer love story that is by turns sweet and sultry, A Strange and Stubborn Endurance is an exploration of gender, identity, and self-worth. It is a book that will live in your heart long after you turn the last page.

About the Author

Foz Meadows is a queer Australian author, essayist, reviewer and poet. They have won two Best Fan Writer awards (a Hugo Award in 2019 and a Ditmar Award in 2017) for yelling on the internet, and have also received the Norma K. Hemming Award in 2018 for their queer Shakespearean novella, Coral Bones. Their essays, reviews, poetry and short fiction have appeared in various venues, including Uncanny, Apex Magazine, Goblin Fruit, HuffPost, and Strange Horizons. Meadows currently lives in California with their family. A Strange and Stubborn Endurance is their fifth novel.