Female Husbands

Manion delivers an eye-opening examination of the female husband phenomenon, their wives, and the larger social context of these relationships. I haven't seen these relationships covered in other trans histories in much detail, but this book shows how a number of true pioneers lived as men, built careers, and had long marriages to women centuries before the term "transgender" existed. I also loved the analysis of their wives, and while the historical record is sparse here Manion does a service by treating them as folks with agency in their own right. All of this demonstrates what is possible even in extremely repressive environments and the long, proud history of the LGBTQ+ community. Highly recommend

The only reason why I'm giving it 4.5 not 5 stars is because I think the analysis near the end was a little thin. I would have liked to hear more of the author's synthesis in relation to 20th century trans movements and anti-trans backlash in the conclusion