Valentine Ackland

At last, a biography of Valentine Ackland.

Frances Bingham has written the definitive biography of
this remarkable cross-dressing woman, poet and activist, recovering an
important part of British lesbian history and creating a testament to queerness
and gender identity in Valentine’s transgressive life. 

Mrs. Turpin was Valentine Ackland, on the run from her
recent disastrous marriage. She was soon to meet the love of her
life, Sylvia Townsend Warner, already a celebrity for her dashing debut
novel Lolly Willowes. They would live in Dorset together in a
passionate relationship until Valentine’s death in 1969.

Valentine was a dedicated poet, deeply involved with
Communism during the 1930s, and an environmentalist and peace campaigner.
Recently released MI5 files show that she was blacklisted for confidential work
during World War II, and remained under long-term surveillance. 

Despite her commitment to Sylvia, Valentine had many affairs
with women who fell for her androgynous beauty and her masterful conduct of an
amour. She also struggled with alcoholism, but the
relationship with Sylvia survived all challenges.

"Bingham prompts the reader to keep turning the pages
of this well-researched, idiosyncratic, and fascinating biography." – New
York Journal of Books

"The cross-dressing Communist lesbian, her closet gay
husband … and a love story like no other." – The Daily
Mail