Dawn Langley Simmons - Dawn: A Charleston Legend

1995, Dawn Langley Simmons, English,

Full title: "Dawn: A Charleston Legend" by Dawn Langley Simmons.

"At birth in Sussex, England, Dawn Langley Simmons was identified as a male and was named Gordon Langley Hall. Although she lived as a man for almost 30 years with what she calls her "deep, dark secret," she was, in fact a female with androgynous features. 

Following gender modification in 1968, Gordon Langley Hall became Dawn Pepita Langley Hall. She married a black Charlestonian, John-Paul Simmons, had a daughter, and was forced to move from South Carolina to New York to escape hostilities directed at her interracial marriage."

"From her childhood vacations at Sissinghurst, where her mentors, Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson, encouraged her first writings, to her successful career as a writer in New York and Charleston, Dawn Langley Simmons has experienced an extraordinary life of creativity, spent in the company of accomplished writers, actors, and artists, including Dame Margaret Rutherford, who adopted her and was regarded by the author as her true "mother." Dawn: A Charleston Legend is a moving, unforgettable true story of love, adversity, tragedy, and, ultimately, the triumph of the human spirit." Dawn must have been an amazing woman, and probably she should be regarded as one of the trans pioneers. 

This is what we can read about her on Wikipedia: "Dawn Langley Pepita Simmons (1922–2000) was a prolific English author and biographer. Born as Gordon Langley Hall, Simmons lived her first decades as a male. As a young adult, she became close to British actress Dame Margaret Rutherford, whom she considered an adoptive mother, and who was the subject of a biography Simmons wrote in later years." 

And another excerpt from makingqueerhistory: "But this was not the community for her, and when she got her gender-confirmation surgery from the John Hopkins hospital, the town quickly turned against her. There were many reasons for this turn."

"First, she was having gender-confirmation surgery in 1968; an unpopular choice at the time. Second, she announced shortly after that she was marrying a black man. 1968 Charleston did her no favours in that regard either. And lastly, because she had broken the rules, she was allowed to be queer only so long as she looked straight and stopped people from speaking about it. And people definitely spoke about it."

Dawn Langley Simmons was a British-born American writer and biographer. She was known for her unconventional life and identity. Born Gordon Langley Hall in England, she underwent gender reassignment surgery in 1969 and became Dawn Langley Hall. Later, she adopted the name Dawn Langley Simmons after marrying John Paul Simmons in 1972. Simmons wrote several books, including biographies and novels.

One of her most well-known works is the biography "Man into Woman: The First Sex Change," which chronicled the life of Lili Elbe, one of the earliest known recipients of sex reassignment surgery. Simmons' own life and experiences also became the subject of public interest. 

Dawn Langley Simmons faced challenges and controversies throughout her life, partly due to her unconventional choices and the public scrutiny she faced. Her life and contributions remain a topic of discussion in the context of transgender history and literature.

Available via Amazon

Photos via alchetron.com