The emergence of public cross-dressing in the 19th century industrial city caused great anxiety to the Victorian legal establishment and England’s new police forces alike. In this talk,Guardian and New Statesman writer Juliet Jacques (long-listed for the Orwell Prize in 2011) explores how those who cross-dressed were criminalised, most famously in the scandalous trial of Ernest ‘Stella’ Boulton and Frederick ‘Fanny’ Park in 1871, and how contemporary transgender identities began to evolve in response.

Juliet Jacques is a journalist and author, best known for writing “A Transgender Journey” for The Guardian – the first time that the gender reassignment process has been serialised for a mainstream British publication. She has also written for the New Statesman and TimeOut, and was longlisted for the Orwell Prize in 2011.

This is a free event, but a donation to OSB would be welcome.

Registration is not required, this is simply to help us and the bookstore be sure we'll have space for everyone.