{"product_id":"valentine-ackland-a-transgressive-life","title":"Valentine Ackland: A Transgressive Life","description":"\u003cbody\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eTitle: \u003c\/b\u003eValentine Ackland: A Transgressive Life\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor: \u003c\/b\u003eFrances Bingham\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN: \u003c\/b\u003e9781912766406\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher: \u003c\/b\u003eHandheld Classics\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished: \u003c\/b\u003e2021\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding: \u003c\/b\u003ePaperback\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage: \u003c\/b\u003eEnglish\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition Note: \u003c\/b\u003eNew from the publisher\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher Description: \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAt last, a biography of Valentine Ackland.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrances Bingham has written the definitive biography\u003cbr\u003eof this remarkable\u003cbr\u003ecross-dressing woman, poet and activist, recovering an important part of\u003cbr\u003eBritish lesbian history and creating a testament to queerness and gender\u003cbr\u003eidentity in Valentine's transgressive life. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMrs. Turpin was Valentine Ackland, on the run from her\u003cbr\u003erecent disastrous marriage. She was soon to meet the love of her life, Sylvia Townsend Warner, already a celebrity for her dashing debut\u003cbr\u003enovel Lolly\u003cbr\u003eWillowes. They would live in Dorset\u003cbr\u003etogether in a passionate relationship until Valentine's death in 1969.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eValentine was a dedicated poet, deeply involved with\u003cbr\u003eCommunism during the 1930s, and an environmentalist and peace campaigner.\u003cbr\u003eRecently released MI5 files show that she was blacklisted for confidential work\u003cbr\u003eduring World War II, and remained under long-term surveillance. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDespite her commitment to Sylvia, Valentine had many\u003cbr\u003eaffairs with women who fell for her androgynous beauty and her masterful\u003cbr\u003econduct of an amour. She also struggled with alcoholism, but\u003cb\u003e the relationship with Sylvia\u003cbr\u003esurvived all challenges.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Bingham prompts the reader to keep turning the pages of this well-researched, idiosyncratic, and fascinating biography.\" -\u003cb\u003e \u003ci\u003eNew York Journal of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"The cross-dressing Communist lesbian, her closet gay husband ... and a love story like no other.\" - \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Daily Mail \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/body\u003e","brand":"Handheld Classics","offers":[{"title":"Valentine Ackland: A Transgressive Life | Frances Bingham | Paperback | 9781912766406 | New | Queer Studies 1658449","offer_id":50783927107842,"sku":"1658449","price":50.76,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0609\/3327\/5906\/files\/71n8Oy9mW4L.jpg?v=1792224532","url":"https:\/\/boswellsbooks.com\/products\/valentine-ackland-a-transgressive-life","provider":"Boswell's Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}