Having gender reassignment surgery in the 1930s was an unusual and sensational affair, and the man who took the step to do so was the Danish painter Einar Mogens Andreas Wegener, who after the operation took the name of Lili Elbe.
The operation took place at the Institute for Sexology in Berlin, where the male organs were removed. The surgery was performed by Felix Abraham at the recommendation of Magnus Hirschfeld.
Einar Wegener was married to the beautiful, celebrated artist Gerda Wegener. They lived in a highly unusual marriage. Their life fate is told in this book, which is a fiction novel based on authentic events and diary entries from Einar Wegener.
The book is based on facts but there are some tiny differences. The Dane Einar, a landscape painter of Jutland, and the American Greta, a well-known portraitist, met during their studies in Copenhagen and got married. Their life together is gradually disrupted by Einar's tendencies to cross-dress.
In female disguise, she becomes the model for Gerda's recognized portraits. However, his sexual bipolarity means an enormous psychological burden in intimate coexistence. When the couple can no longer resist the condemnation of the Danish conservative society, they settle in Paris. Einar's mental and health condition intrigue many specialists, they propose various solutions, until finally a German surgeon takes up the case and in Dresden in 1931 Einar's dream comes true as she becomes a woman, she takes the name Lili Elbe, but their marriage falls apart.
Available via transviden.dk
and goodreads.com
and martinus.sk
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