James Miranda Barry: Reissued
3.5/5
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About this ebook
At the turn of the nineteenth century, ten-year-old James Miranda
Barry enrolled as a medical student in Edinburgh, the start of a
glorious career as a military surgeon. Across the Empire, Barry achieved
fame not only as a brilliant physician, but also a legendary duellist
and a celebrated social figure. But James Miranda Barry was also a
woman. Her greatest achievement of all had been to 'pass' for a man for
more than fifty years.
Patricia Duncker's novel tells
Barry's story for the first time, in a richly inventive and entertaining
tale of dark family secrets, adultery, questioned paternity and
colonial history. It confirms her rare talent as a writer of profound
ideas and immense storytelling power.
Patricia Duncker
Patricia Duncker is the author of five previous novels: Hallucinating Foucault (winner of the Dillons First Fiction Award and the McKitterick Prize in 1996), The Deadly Space Between, James Miranda Barry, Miss Webster and Chérif (shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize in 2007) and The Strange Case of the Composer and his Judge (shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger award for Best Crime Novel of the Year in 2010). She has written two books of short fiction, Monsieur Shoushana's Lemon Trees (shortlisted for the Macmillan Silver Pen Award in 1997) and Seven Tales of Sex and Death, and a collection of essays, Writing on the Wall. Patricia Duncker is Professor of Contemporary Literature at the University of Manchester.
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Reviews for James Miranda Barry
39 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This is a novel of biographical historical fiction. It is based on the true story of a brilliant female physician who lived as a man under the name James Barry. The novel traces her/his life over the decades and on three continents (Europe, Africa and the Americas). There was a lot of focus on the issue of "why" did she become a he. James began cross-dressing as a child, and was encouraged to live as a man by her/his mother and her/his mother's lover, since at the time life for a woman was generally a life without choices. As a historical figure, he was known as a brilliant and excellent doctor.Recommended.3 stars
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A gripping story with perfect blending of fact and fiction. Patricia Duncker creates a reliable portrait of a rather unknown person in a successful historical background - and has imagination and literary skills to throw in some romance and suspension as well.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5If you're after a frank examination of gender and sexuality in the 17th century with a bit of historical intrigue and romance thrown in for good measure, this one's probably for you. It might have been nice to see a bit more detail on other aspects of Barry's life (his career as a military surgeon and his family), but you can't have everything.