Summerscale doesn’t write a standard biography; she writes a dismantling of a myth. She tracks Carstairs’ transition from a Standard Oil heiress into a cross-dressing adventurer who kept a collection of dolls and surrounded herself with sycophants. It’s not just a story about being a lesbian; it’s a study in what happens when someone has enough money to opt out of gender, society, and reality itself.
It’s a portrait of an absolute original. Carstairs didn’t try to fit into the ‘lesbian community’ of her day—she bought an island to avoid it. It’s a messy, fascinating look at how extreme privilege and extreme gender non-conformity collided in the early 20th century. It’s about the cost of freedom when that freedom is bought with a massive inheritance.
Details
| ISBN: 9780007276660 |
| Subtitle: |
| Genre: Autobiography/Biography; Memoir |
| Subject(s): Eccentrics And Eccentricities; Fiction / Historical; Lesbians; Motorboat Racing; Whale Cay (Bahamas) |
| Publication Date: 2008-10-29 |
| Original Publication Date: |
| Publisher: Harper Perennial |
| Language: English |
| Format: Paperback |
| Pages: 264 |
| Rating: |
| Notes: |
| Book_ID: 106373 |