Crossdressing Women in History

[CaptLex]

Private Perks is a Terry Pratchet (one of my fav authors) reference to a cross dressing girl who joins the army.

This line from the "name" thread caught my eye, but I thought maybe it deserved it's own thread so I could expand on it without hijacking the previous one.

Coincidentally, I enjoy stories about crossdressing women throughout history (gee, I wonder why) and am currently reading "Lieutenant Nun". It's the memoirs of a woman (Catalina de Erauso) from the early 1600's who was raised in a convent in Spain and ran away around the age of 15 before taking her final vows. She took off for the New World and for approximately 20 years lived as a man and became an officer in the Spanish army. She was eventually found out and became like a celebrity throughout Europe. She was then granted permission by the Pope to live the rest of her life as a man (with full crossdressing privileges) and a pension by the King of Spain.

Not all stories end happily like this (remember what happened to Joan of Arc), but I'm always on the look out for these kinds of stories - historical, as well as fictional. So, if anyone has read any others please let me know.

Perks, thanks for the info. I'll be looking that one up.

[gennee]

[SIZE="3"]
'Lieutenant Nun' sounds like a good read, CaptLex.

Gennee[/SIZE]

[Casey Morgan]

This puts a bit of a spin on what you're looking for, but hopefully it's a welcome spin. I was just remembering that some notable male authors from the 19th century, such as George Sand, were actually women. I googled "him" and found this entry in the Wikipedia. It turns out she was a crossdresser. I'm wondering which other authors were also crossdressers or created a male persona in their correspondance.

[CaptLex]

Thanks, guys . . .

Lex, I'm going to look those books up on Amazon and see if I can get them.

Shari Ann, thanks for the link. I'm also interested in reading more on George Sand, so I'll be looking for any biographies too.

Gennee, it's a really interesting story. She was quite an adventurer - kind of like Indiana Jones or something.

[privateperks]

Looking for more FtM books? Well, there's a series by Tamora Pierce, it's about a girl who trades places with her twin so that she can become a knight. The first book is called 'Alanna: the First Adventure'. It's not a bad read, although she doesn't want to be a guy, she just wants to be a knight.
.

I really liked that series too.

There's a book called "The Last Report On The Miracles At Little No Horse." It's by Louise Erditch and about a woman who cross dresses to become a priest. But you'd have to read the entire "Love Medicine" series to really be able to follow the plot.

[CaptLex]

I really liked that series too.

There's a book called "The Last Report On The Miracles At Little No Horse." It's by Louise Erditch and about a woman who cross dresses to become a priest. But you'd have to read the entire "Love Medicine" series to really be able to follow the plot.

Thanks, Perks, I'll check it out.