I would be up for any of the books suggested so far I think. Some of them I've already read, but as classics they would all merit a reread!
Like others, I'm delighted and surprised by the lesbian storyline. It feels so different to the scenes in the earlier part of the novel where we had the horrible stories of Italian peasant women being raped by brigands. This is certainly a multi-faceted novel.
I was greatly relieved that despite their encounter with Andrea, Eugenie and Louise were not deterred from carrying on with their journey! And we finally see a male character who is NOT willing to choose suicide due to loss of honour. ('Kill myself?' he said, throwing down his knife. 'What is the point of that?') Ha.
It's also interesting that part of Eugenie's character involves her dedication to her art (music). It seems as though women in the novel have two choices: marry, or become a lesbian artist. As though heterosexual women can't choose to pursue art. Hmm.
I missed Gentleman Jack when it came out but I'd like to see it.
Eugenie's crossdressing reminds me of Shakespeare comedy heroines, like Rosalind disguised as a man fleeing with her sister Celia, or Viola. But Rosalind and Viola are both in love with men, so they're not as transgressive of gender norms as Eugenie.
I also love it when Louise calls Eugenie an Amazon. Amazon women (or rather the myth of the Amazonian woman, and how it gets used throughout history) is a big interest of mine. So many fascinating women, historical and fictional, are labelled Amazons.