When truth was stranger than fiction

Meet April Ashley, one the first British trans women and most certainly the biggest British celebrity trans woman of the twentieth century. Her life was the stuff of the tabloids, from titled suitors to rock and roll gods, to a divorce suit that ended badly for April. But after each and every fall from grace, April rose up, again and again. If there’s nothing else you take away from this book, amidst the over-the-top namedropping, the visceral surgical detail, Ashley’s own lack of political correctness, then remember this woman as a survivor in every phase of her life.

Written in a supremely accessible style, this is a breeze of a read, covering the highs and lows of April’s life, with just enough detail to give truth to the tallest of tales. Take it all with a pinch of salt, as you should with any biography, and enjoy April’s wild ride.

Four stars.

Bonjour, Mademoiselle follows the life of April Ashley as told through her previous biographies and interviews. This is an interesting collection of stories about her early life in working class Liverpool into the world of aristocracy and her desperation to cling to her wealth.

April Ashley is an incredibly engaging and complex character who had polished her carefully curated image within an inch of her life. I appreciate the authors making that clear throughout, but this remained a rather indulgent and superficial story at times. There is no denying her strength and tenacity, but the way in which she viewed other trans people and other people from working class backgrounds was often very uncomfortable.

The book went off in tangents about other important figures or celebrities that were only pretty loosely related to April’s story.

I will say reading about her experiences during Corbett vs Corbett was truly heartbreaking and seeing the ramifications of a divorce case that still has negative consequences for trans people throughout the decades was really challenging. This was the strongest aspect of the book and felt the most real or at least the closest we got to seeing who April Ashley really was.

I think this might be a helpful book for people starting to read LGBTQIA+ biographies, but honestly feel there are better options available. I would still recommend this to those interested in the court case and learning a little more about April Ashley.

I knew nothing of the lady this book centres around and was intrigued to find out more. I am afraid that the book is written like a school essay just compiling facts as they come along. I appreciate that the law and social conventions were changing and that April Ashley was a major player at that time but I do not think the authors here capture the mood very well. An ok read but only just.

Thank you to Jacqueline Kent & Tom Roberts, Scribe UK and NetGalley, for the amazing opportunity to read : Bonjour, Mademoiselle ! as an ARC.

Key words : LGBTQIA rights, memoirs, trans rights

I was so intrigued by this book and I never read any biography books so I wanted to give it a try with a subject that I am curious and care about.
This book follows the life of April Ashley, from the start of her life as a poor child in Liverpool to her identity as a woman. Experiencing different lives from cabaret dancer, to model to acting. To the case of her divorce court which was more about trans rights than the end of her relationship with her husband at the time.
This book was amazingly written with pictures, citations and good references.
It was fun to see how influential she became and how famous people were gravitating towards her.
I’m rating it a 5⭐️.