Inside Out - Douglas Thompson:

In a Shakespearean sense, April Ashley played many roles. Born in pre-war Liverpool, a victim of horrendous physical abuse from her parents and sexual abuse from a family friend.  Sailor, cabaret performer, model, nightclub owner, activist and one of the first British people to undergo gender reassignment.  She took her name from her birth month and the character in Gone With The Wind.  

This is a long overdue biography (her autobiography no longer exists for legal reasons).  It’s a compelling, uplifting read.  Even in its darkest moments, especially with regard to the legal ruling that she didn’t actually exist, there is a sense of triumph and dignity.  

There’s also that granular, gossipy detail that I love in biographies.  Here we have being pursued by both Elvis and Macca; plus a one night-stand with Michael Hutchence (without actually knowing who he was, but he was ‘very nice’) and her penchant for sleeping with Welsh men; as ‘they’re very thorough’.  Plus, her small role in Profumo (a fact explored more deeply in the author’s previous book on Christine Keeler).  

The author was a friend of April and the close personal bond they had runs through this.  Yet, I would draw attention to the odd phrase that makes me wince: IE ‘gender hysteria’ ‘pronoun fascist’.  Three years after her death, her shadow grows both longer and more fabulous.  This is the flowers she never really had in her lifetime.  It’s published on 20th August by Ad Lib and I thank them for a preview copy.