A random collection of over 1910 books and audiobooks authored by or about my transgender, intersex sisters, and gender-nonconforming persons all over the world. I read some of them, and I was inspired by some of them. I met some of the authors and heroines, some of them are my best friends, and I had the pleasure and honor of interviewing some of them. If you know of any transgender biography that I have not covered yet, please let me know.
Original title: "Wandlung: Eine Lebensbeichte" (Conversion: A confession of life) by Niels Hoyer.
In 1932, Lili Elbe published the book titled "Ein Mensch Weschselt Sein Geschlecht" (A man changes his sex), edited by Niels Hoyer (a pseudonym for Ernst Harthern).
The book is about Lili Elbe, also known as Lili Ilse Elvenes, a Danish painter and transgender woman, one of the first recipients of gender reassignment surgery in the world, an experience recounted in her posthumously published memoir, Man Into Woman, and the subject of the 2000 book and 2015 film, The Danish Girl.
In 1954, Niels Hoyer published the same book under his name and with a slightly changed title: "Wandlung: Eine Lebensbeichte" (Conversion: A confession of life).
1954,
German,
Lili Elbe,
Niels Hoyer,
"Ich war ein Mann" (I was a man) is the German language edition of Roberta Cowell's Story by Roberta Cowell.
Roberta Elizabeth Marshall Cowell (1918-2011) was a British racing driver and Second World War fighter pilot. She was the first known British trans woman to undergo gender reassignment surgery in 1948.
"For the first thirty-three years of my life, I was Robert Cowell, an aggressive male who had
piloted a Spitfire during the war {WW2}, designed and driven racing cars, married, and become the
father of two children.
Since May 18th, 1951, I have been Roberta Cowell, female. I have become
woman physically, psychologically, glandularly and legally.
This incredible thing was not an overnight change. I had always known that my body had certain
feminine characteristics. My aggressively masculine manner compensated for this, at least as far as
normal men and women were concerned, but homosexuals invariably took me for one of themselves.
1954,
German,
Roberta Cowell,
Original title: "J'ai choisi mon sexe: Confidences du peintre Michel-Marie Poulain" (I Chose My Sex: Confidences of the painter Michel-Marie Poulain)
I came across this book on the blog managed by Zagria. According to this portal, Michel-Marie Poulain (1906 – 1991) was a French performer, painter, and stained-glass artist.
"She was a senior-sergeant in the Second World War. He was captured by the Germans and interned until 1945. She self-castrated herself in 1946 and then lived increasingly as a woman.
She was a high-fashion model. She painted portraits and did stained-glass windows for churches, particularly in Abbaye de La Colle-sur-Loup and the Chapelle des Pénitents Blancs in Èze. Later she opened a gallery in Cannes."
1954,
Claude Marais,
French,
Michel-Marie Poulain.,
Original title: "Da Karl blev Karla: En dansk læges bedrift" (When Karl became Karla: A Danish doctor's achievement) by Bent Rosenwein.
The book deals with gender reassignment surgery, which according to the book was performed on a young American man, Karl, who had traveled to Copenhagen to undergo gender reassignment surgery.
The book only deals peripherally with the gender reassignment surgery that Christine Jorgensen had undergone at Rigshospitalet. Shortly after Christine Jorgensen had her gender reassignment surgery, the Danish Parliament decided that in the future only Danish citizens could have such surgery in Denmark.
1954,
Bent Rosenwein,
Charlotte McLeod,
Danish,
"In 1951 Winford was searching for an idea for a book that would be "something different," when a chance meeting with a former female impersonator gave him the idea.
He spent three years researching and contacting performers from all over the country. In his epilogue, he recounts how difficult this was, as he was met with suspicion from many who feared being made the subject of ridicule and gossip.
While many of the attitudes in his writing are outdated by today's standards, it is my impression that the project evolved into an earnest attempt to present this as a legitimate form of entertainment. described here actually happened."
1954,
E. Carlton Winford,
English,
USA,
Roberta Elizabeth Marshall Cowell (1918-2011) was a British racing driver and Second World War fighter pilot. She was the first known British trans woman to undergo gender reassignment surgery in 1948.
"For the first thirty-three years of my life, I was Robert Cowell, an aggressive male who had
piloted a Spitfire during the war {WW2}, designed and driven racing cars, married, and become the
father of two children.
Since May 18th, 1951, I have been Roberta Cowell, female. I have become
woman physically, psychologically, glandularly and legally.
This incredible thing was not an overnight change. I had always known that my body had certain
feminine characteristics. My aggressively masculine manner compensated for this, at least as far as
normal men and women were concerned, but homosexuals invariably took me for one of themselves.
1954,
English,
Roberta Cowell,
UK,
