Overview

'Cross-dressed to Kill' is a book featuring a unique collection of extraordinary stories by twenty women cross-dressers of English, Irish, French, Prussian, Russian, Spanish, American and Israeli nationalities. There were literally hundreds of known women cross-dressers in Britain across Europe and in the Americas yet they have been erased from both social and military history. The bravery of these women masquerading as men and the risks they took were great. The penalty for cross-dressing in this period was harsh, including the death penalty because it was seen as an unnatural act that threatened society and offended social morality. The book answers all the questions of why young women dressed as men to fight as soldiers in the 17th to 20th centuries? I tell some of the fascinating women's stories: fearless, 'tomboys', early feminists and decidedly full of what was called 'pluck and spunk'. For them 'patriotism had no sex', determined to fight for their country. What did society think of them? Why was cross-dressing illegal and punishable by death? Were some lesbian or transsexual- as we debate gender today? What happened to them after they were discovered, their sex revealed while dying on the battlefield or wounded? Answers to these questions and how, unafraid to kill, their bravery was rewarded by the army and royalty. Medals, money and fame came. Their legacy? Some are hailed as the first female sailors and soldiers like Deborah Sampson and Lucy Brewer. As the late author Hilary Mantel wrote ' their story is our story', to be included in the re-telling past events.

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9781838177911

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Reviews

""This is a one-off and I believe a unique illustrated history book with the poems and songs written about the women when they became famous."" Chichester Observer Review from GoodReads 'Crossed-Dressed to Kill is an incredibly interesting book about men who dressed as men to go to war. Some of the names were known to me, Anne Bonny the 18th century Pirate for one, however this book gave me more insight into their history, and there were many new women I was introduced to. This is a fascinating side of history with the author's detailed research shining a spotlight on the women who defied their gender. The account of each woman is detailed, although brief, this means you could happily flick through the pages, reading about a couple of brave women at a time.. At the end of each account there is a concluding summary, which highlights some of the patriarchal views of the time. Some of these stories are sad, but all incredibly interesting with plenty of references to allow for personal research and further reading. I never enjoyed History at school, but as an adult I love learning about the past and stories like these should be shared in schools, at the very least to demonstrate that the old-fashioned notion of the ""traditional"" role of women, didn't work even at the height of its popularity.'

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