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: "Le Dalí d'Amanda" (Amanda's Dalí) .
Amanda Lear (born 1939) is a French singer, television celebrity, actress, and model, known for her professional career as a fashion model in the mid-1960s and being a muse of Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dalí. The book tells about her relationship with Salvador Dalí and presents detailed insights into the 15 years of their relationship.
According to Wikipedia, Amanda's transgender background was confirmed by Salvador Dalí himself, and other well-known artists that used to know Lear earlier in her life. For example, April Ashley, a transgender icon and model, claimed that in the 1950s and early 1960s, Lear, whose birth name she stated was "Alain Tap", had worked with her in the Parisian transgender revues Madame Arthur and Le Carrousel. In her book April Ashley's Odyssey, Ashley recalls Lear performing drag acts under the stage name "Peki d'Oslo".
1984,
Amanda Lear,
April Ashley,
French,
Georges Burou,
Romy Haag,
Original title: "Rejsen mod Bente: kønsskifteoperationen i Casablanca" (The journey towards Bente: the gender reassignment surgery in Casablanca). The book was published in 2001 and republished in 2018.
This book is the deeply personal story of Bent Nimb, who embarked on a life-changing journey. In 1982, Bent Nimb was on her way from Copenhagen to Casablanca to undergo gender reassignment surgery.
Years of hormone treatments at Rigshospitalet with many refusals of surgery from dozens of doctors, psychiatrists, sexologists, and the medical examiner's office had preceded the surgery.
But Bent Nimb could not wait any longer and took matters into her own hands.
2001,
2018,
Bente Nimb,
Danish,
Georges Burou,
Full title: "Pubblici scandali e private virtù. Dalla Dolce Vita al convento. Dialogo con Willy Vaira" (Public scandals and private virtues. From Dolce Vita to the convent. Dialogue with Willy Vaira). The book was published in 2007 and 2021.
Giò Stajano (1931-2011) was the most famous transgender woman in Italy, first publicly declared as gay, then a reserved lady dedicated to painting who, at an aperitif time, never gave up her Martini Dry.
She was famous for scandals. Her aspiration was success and not rebellion, and her motivation was personal and not political. But certainly, scandals contributed greatly to the birth of the LGBT movement in Italy.
2007,
2021,
Georges Burou,
Giò Stajano,
Italian,
Willy Vaira,
Original title: "De Niño a Mujer: Biografía De Dolly Van Doll" (From Child to Woman: Biography of Dolly van Doll) by Pilar Matos.
Dolly Van Doll, stage name Carla Follis, was born in Turin (Italy) in 1938, at the dawn of the Second World War. Living childhood among bombs, hunger, and fear, can be reason enough to mark any human being and drag that trauma through a lifetime, but Carla has always managed to be reborn from the ashes of all the calamities with which she had to survive.
She was able to achieve not only the professional glory that her artistic talent gave her, but also achieve the happiness worked, sought, and achieved as a person. She was born Carlo Angelo Fernando, but in 1964 she went to Casablanca where she underwent gender reassignment surgery.
2007,
Carla Follis,
Dolly Van Doll,
Georges Burou,
Pilar Matos,
Spanish,
Full title: "She-Male: The Sex-Reversal True Life Story of Coccinelle" by Carlson Wade.
The book is a biography of Jacqueline Charlotte Dufresnoy, also known by her stage name Coccinelle. She was a French actress, cabaret entertainer, and singer. She named herself Coccinelle (Ladybird), a tribute to a red dress with black polka dots that she often wore. She was born on August 23, 1931 in Paris, France and passed away on October 9, 2006 in Marseille, France.
She entered the French world of entertainment in 1953 at Madame Arthur and then at the Carrousel in Paris. This is when she met Bambi, another cabaret performer and legendary transgender icon. Coccinelle helped Bambi with her first performances and gave her shelter at her home.
1963,
Bambi,
Carlson Wade,
Coccinelle,
English,
Georges Burou,
Jacqueline Charlotte Dufresnoy,
Original title: "Elle est lui" (She is lui) by Mario A. Costa.
The book is a biography of Jacqueline Charlotte Dufresnoy, also known by her stage name Coccinelle. She was a French actress, cabaret entertainer, and singer. She named herself Coccinelle (Ladybird), a tribute to a red dress with black polka dots that she often wore. She was born on August 23, 1931 in Paris, France and passed away on October 9, 2006 in Marseille, France.
She entered the French world of entertainment in 1953 at Madame Arthur and then at the Carrousel in Paris. This is when she met Bambi, another cabaret performer and legendary transgender icon. Coccinelle helped Bambi with her first performances and gave her shelter at her home.
1963,
Bambi,
Coccinelle,
French,
Georges Burou,
Jacqueline Charlotte Dufresnoy,
Mario A. Costa,
"L'énigme. d'un sexe à l'autre" is the French language edition of "Conundrum" by Jan Morris.
I found this nice intro on Goodreads: "The great travel writer Jan Morris was born James Morris. James Morris distinguished himself in the British military, became a successful and physically daring reporter, climbed mountains, crossed deserts, and established a reputation as a historian of the British empire. He was happily married, with several children. To all appearances, he was not only a man, but a man’s man."
And here is an excerpt from a fantastic review from Transascity: "Conundrum is an autobiography, a tale about the life and transsexual journey of Jan Morris, noted British journalist and author. Born Humphrey Morris, Jan led an idyllic if somewhat lonely childhood, feeling since age 3 or 4 that she was born into the wrong body."
1974,
French,
Georges Burou,
Jan Morris,
"El enigma" is the Spanish language edition of "Conundrum" by Jan Morris.
I found this nice intro on Goodreads: "The great travel writer Jan Morris was born James Morris. James Morris distinguished himself in the British military, became a successful and physically daring reporter, climbed mountains, crossed deserts, and established a reputation as a historian of the British empire. He was happily married, with several children. To all appearances, he was not only a man, but a man’s man."
And here is an excerpt from a fantastic review from Transascity: "Conundrum is an autobiography, a tale about the life and transsexual journey of Jan Morris, noted British journalist and author. Born Humphrey Morris, Jan led an idyllic if somewhat lonely childhood, feeling since age 3 or 4 that she was born into the wrong body."
1974,
Georges Burou,
Jan Morris,
Spanish,
Full title: "Conundrum" by Jan Morris.
I found this nice intro on Goodreads: "The great travel writer Jan Morris was born James Morris. James Morris distinguished himself in the British military, became a successful and physically daring reporter, climbed mountains, crossed deserts, and established a reputation as a historian of the British Empire. He was happily married, with several children. To all appearances, he was not only a man, but a man’s man."
And here is an excerpt from a fantastic review from Transascity: "Conundrum is an autobiography, a tale about the life and transsexual journey of Jan Morris, noted British journalist and author. Born Humphrey Morris, Jan led an idyllic if somewhat lonely childhood, feeling since age 3 or 4 that she was born into the wrong body.
1974,
English,
Georges Burou,
Jan Morris,
Full title: "Thinking Again: A Diary" by Jan Morris.
Catharine Jan Morris (1926-2000) was born James Humphry Morris. She was a Welsh historian, writer, and travel writer. She published under her birth name, James, until 1972, when she had gender reassignment surgery after transitioning from male to female. The book was published one year before her death.
“Like Michel de Montaigne” (Danny Heitman, Wall Street Journal), Morris waxes on the ironies of modern life in all their resonant glories and inevitable stupidities - from her daily exercise (a “statutory thousand paces of brisk walk”) to the troubles of Brexit; her enduring yet complicated love for America; and honest reflections on the vagaries and ailments of aging. Both intimate and luminously wise, Thinking Again is a testament to the virtues of embracing life, creativity, and, above all, kindness.
2020,
English,
Georges Burou,
Jan Morris,
"Los travestis: Y el enigma de cambio de sexo" (The Transvestites: And the Enigma of Sex Change) by Jaques Delpal.
I tried to find some information about this publication but unfortunately, I was not able to find any source. On the cover, we can see Jacqueline Charlotte Dufresnoy, better known by her stage name Coccinelle, a French transgender actress, entertainer, and singer. She was born on August 23, 1931 in Paris, France and passed away on October 9, 2006 in Marseille, France.
She was an international celebrity and a renowned club singer. She performed regularly at the famous nightclub Le Carrousel de Paris, which also featured regular acts by other famous trans women such as April Ashley and Bambi. She underwent a vaginoplasty by Georges Burou in Casablanca in 1958. After the operation, she became a media sensation and performed the Cherchez la femme revue which ran for 7 months at the Olympia in Paris between 1963 and 1964. In 1987, her autobiography was published, titled Coccinelle par Coccinelle. She was married to Francis Bonnet from 1960 to 1962, Mario Costa from 1963 until his death in 1977, and Thierry Wilson from 1996 until her death.
1974,
Bambi,
Coccinelle,
Georges Burou,
Jacqueline Charlotte Dufresnoy,
Jacques Louis Delpal,
Spanish,
