Customer Reviews

The Transvestite Memoirs & The Story of The: Marquise-Marquis de Banneville

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This edition of the Abbe de Choisy's Memoirs includes four autobiographical fragments, a short story entitled "The Story of the Marquise-Marquis De Banneville," and a brief but interesting essay on transvestism by Jeremy Reed. In the Memoirs, Choisy delights in describing his various adornments, giving detailed descriptions of his dresses, jewelry, hairstyles, and "patches" (beauty spots). He also tells all about his many love affairs with women. These erotic encounters are described with subtlety, but are no less risque for that. Always the exhibitionist, Choisy's philosophy of love and beauty infuses the whole book: that beauty inspires love and that we always love ourselves more than we love others. After reading the Memoirs, it is easy to see that Choisy's short story is his personal erotic fantasy. Reading the Memoirs first will certainly eliminate the element of surprise in the story. I would recommend reading this charming story before the memoirs, for it is the highlight of the book and should be enjoyed to the fullest. Finally, Reed makes some informative comments on the social meaning of transvestism in his afterword and the translator provides a useful cultural context (late seventeenth century France) in his introduction.

A fascinating glimpse into the mind & adventures of a 17th-century French gender-bender. A cleric with a taste for dresses, (innumerable) beauty spots, and young girls dressed as men, Choisy romps and minces his way through his memoirs, seducing young ladies as well as his readers. His short story about the Marquise-Marquis de Banneville is similarly enjoyable, if a tad less dodgy. The twist in the tale is perhaps a bit predictable, but, well, we can't expect anything too gay to be published in 17th century France...