Cover Image: The Hidden Case of Ewan Forbes

The Hidden Case of Ewan Forbes

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United Kingdom's early transgender.

The history of the Ewan Forbes who transitioned. Many of the records relating to the case were hidden/deliberately lost.

It's an interesting story for anyone interested in the the early years of transition.

Rony
Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book to review.

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I read this book two years ago and still the story has stayed with me throughout the years. If you want to know anything about trans history in the UK, you absolutely must read this book.

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The download date was unfortunately missed, I would be happy to re-review if it became available again. I have awarded stars for the book cover and description as they both appeal to me. I would be more than happy to re-read and review if a download becomes available. If you would like me to re-review please feel free to contact me at thesecretbookreview@gmail.com or via social media The_secret_bookreview (Instagram) or Secret_bookblog (Twitter). Thank you.

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The first three-quarters of this book were a fascinating insight into a kind, gentle and remarkable man who, despite being technically born as a girl, began to see what would now be called gender reassignment specialists from the astoundingly young age of 6. Not only was he then able to live as a male but he was also, astoundingly, even able to correct his birth certificate in order to legally marry. The case of Ewan Forbes was indeed 'hidden' for many years and the parts of the book that concern his life are an incredibly well-written and readable account. The last quarter of the book however turns into a polemic for the wider issue of trans rights which is a shame as this is a fascinating story that is, mostly, well told.

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This book tells the fascinating true story of trans man Ewan Forbes, and the legal case he was embroiled in, whereby he had to prove his right to inherit a family title.
Meticulously referenced and extremely well researched, this very important book deserves to be widely read and discussed.

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Thanks to net galley for another thought provoking read. I found it really hard to read at times knowing how hard it must have been and still is for individuals such as Ewan Forbes.

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I couldn’t finish this book. I requested it as I thought the premise was fascinating and as the blurb points out, a story that was hidden from the public domain for a very long time. However I think the author made an error in the way she chose to tell the story.

Playdon freely acknowledges that neither Ewan Forbes nor his wife Isabella left any letters or diaries and never publicly discussed what was to Ewan a deeply private matter. In fact the pair had both passed away before she had had a chance to read the original trial
transcripts. Faced with these limitations the author still chose to write the story from Ewan’s perspective. This involved a lot of extrapolation, and the constant barrage of ‘He would have been/seen/felt’ and ‘She would have been/seen/felt’ with regard to Ewan and Isabella drove me demented!!!!! It turned a serious book about a serious subject into a work of fiction! If that is what the author wanted then that is what the author and publisher should have marketed this as!

The narrative also keeps breaking away from Ewan’s story and talking about the wider history of trans rights at the time. I understand why the author chose to do this but it does disrupt the flow of the story. It would have read much better if this was either an examination of trans rights with a focus on this particular case instead of a part biography(without a lot of primary source material) and part social history.

A final criticism. The author has mentioned a couple of things that I thought sounded interesting like Ewan’s brother William being unfairly persecuted by MI6 so I looked it up. It turns out he was a spy and not unfairly targeted at all. Playing fast and loose with the facts does the book a disservice and makes you question what other facts are reported incorrectly!

Additional Note - I also tried listening to the audiobook however, I kept hearing the narrator rustling papers which was really distracting and the different accents were unnecessary in my opinion.

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An interesting and well written account.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

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This wonderfully compelling book tells the story of Ewan Forbes, born female as Elizabeth, but never comfortable with his gender, and who managed, with the support of his understanding mother and medical help from specialists in Europe, to transition to what he considered his true gender, and went on to live, work and marry as a man. All was put in jeopardy when he was due to inherit a baronetcy, when a cousin contested the claim because Ewan was actually female and thus couldn’t inherit. Part of the book follows Ewan’s legal, medical and personal struggles, not least the court case that confirmed him as male and thus able to inherit the baronetcy. For many years this court ruling was kept hidden, effectively expunged from the record, resulting in far-reaching implications for other trans people. It’s a fascinating story in and of itself, but in addition the author goes on to explore in great depth the trans experience in general, and this part of the book I found equally compelling, and above all illuminating. I came away from my reading vastly better educated and with a far greater comprehension of trans issues. It’s a complex tale brilliantly told and meticulously researched. I’m aware that there have been objections to the author’s interpretation of some of the legal aspects, but ultimately this is a minor issue. Perhaps she has made some errors but she has, far more importantly, uncovered a truly fascinating biography of an interesting man and opened up the trans world to a wider audience. A great read.

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A historic biography of Ewan Forbes a Scottish aristocrat with family links to the Royal Family.
Ewan's story is fascinating, born early in the 20th Century and assigned female at birth, Ewan's story gives an account of being transgender. A successful man who worked hard as a farmer and earning enough money to put himself through medical school where he became a successful GP well like by the locals.
Ewan was able to change his sex on his birth certificate to male and this in turn enabled him to marry. When his father died, the baronetcy and a large portion of land was passed to his brother. On his brothers death, his cis male cousin attended the funeral The cousin then challenges Ewan for the baronetcy as the next male heir claiming Ewan to be female. Both parties agree to a summary trial that did not take place in court and in fact the trial was therefore private something that Ewan wanted.
I'm not sure if the case was 'hidden' as the author suggests due to the success of the trial by government so much as it was a summary trial held in private.
Transgender rights did go into decline after the trial but no real proof if this was because of the trial. Corbett v Corbett came to trail shortly. April Ashley who dies recently, was unable to change her birth certificate and lost her case but went on to receive an MBE for her services to transgender quality. The book describes many cases in chronological order as well as the stance of the Government which seemed never to be sympathetic particularly with the introduction of section 28 by Thatcher. The legacy of that women has a lot to answer for.
The final chapter closes on recent developments in Transgender rights but disappointingly the term TERF was overused and painted all women had to fully accept unquestionably accept all aspects of transgender women or they were right winged horrible monsters. To totally deny that some men will portray themselves as transgender women in order to more easily access female only spaces would be like denning that paedophiles did not join the priesthood in order to prey on children, This is neither fair to cis women or transgender women, To the author, this no doubt would make me TERF which I don't feel I am. Being socialist and recognising that being transgender should not limit in individual in anyway, I have empathy but feel the need for greater safeguards. What and how that could be done, I don't have the answer for.
The book is long but gripping, soon to be made into a much deserved mini series which I would look forward to.
The chapters are also long with little chance to read a complete chapter before putting down but thankfully plenty of breaks between paragraphs. There are also some interesting photographs.
Written with complete empathy and fully researched, it is an interesting insight into being transgender.
#TheHiddenCaseofEwanForbes
#NetGalley
Review published to Goodreads, Twitter, Amazon and Waterstones.

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It was a harrowing read that I will recommend to my friends and family. Ewan Forbes is someone we should all talk about. I have learnt a lot about procedures and similarly to The Transgender Issue, I’ve learnt a lot more about the community and arguments on both sides. I am pleased there’s more and more literature to educate us on these.

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A sensitive and enlightening delve into a little known case. A timely release in our current climate that is able to discuss legal and medical details in a way that is easy to understand and that keeps people at the centre of the descriptions.

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It was a fascinating read and I learned a lot reading this book.
It's well researched and I was fascinated by Ewan Forbes and their story. It's the story of a person and of trans people in the recent past.
There's some repetition at the beginning and this was the slowest part.
An interesting and informative read, recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

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this was disgusting to read. i can’t believe that discrimination is still a thing even now. just so disgusting. I’m going to be recommending this to so many people to read because it’s just so important in the education of LGBT issues.

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I was intrigued by this book; I'm really keen on real life history and was expecting to have moments of surprise but I wasn't expecting the absolute shock of so many of the things explored in the book. Pre-reading, as a cis female, my experience and understanding of trans issues and legalities was nonexistent. This was an interesting and educational read - I've learned so much, some of which I'm appalled at but much of which has challenged my own preconceptions. The personal details and events of Ewan's own life was incredibly interesting and gave a human edge to the history of trans rights. There were parts that were heavy going, with the writing style being almost academic which i enjoyed less than the personal history parts..m though they were still informative!

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Zoe Playdon worked for 30 years on the front line in LGBTI human rights, including working with Baroness Helena Kennedy QC; it was during her working life that she came across the case but only in her retirement that she had the time to research and present it. The book hinges on the case of Ewan Forbes, a Scottish member of the aristocracy who was born female but identified as male, lived a happy outdoor life, got his birth certificate changed in the 1950s, as you could then, and married and was practising happily as a doctor when a series of deaths in the family with no adjustment of wills meant that his cousin suddenly challenged him for his titles and land on the basis of him not being born male. It all came down to primogeniture and the case was suppressed, immediately winding back the liberties trans people had and making their life a living hell for the next several decades (and still now, so tragically often).

My full review on my blog here https://librofulltime.wordpress.com/2021/11/21/book-review-zoe-playdon-the-hidden-case-of-ewan-forbes/

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A truly fascinating account of a trans man born in Edwardian Scotland and the hidden court case which might have changed so much regarding trans rights today. I am a wee bit ambivalent about this unauthorised biography in that no doubt Forbes himself would not have relished aspects of his personal life being examined and publicised like this (similar to Dr Barry). On the other hand, this is also an important historical case and it’s through examining such things that we can find a more equal footing for everyone. Highly recommend this – it’s an interesting read.

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A fascinating and timely biography of a member of a Scottish landowning family who was assigned female at birth but lived life as a man and even had his birth certificate changed to reflect this. When he was forced to 'prove' his gender in court to prevent his cousin from inheriting, this had implications that would affect trans people to this day.
Professor Playdon has obviously done a great deal of research about Ewan's life, despite the Hidden nature of the case which was kept intirely private behind court orders. There is also a wealth of history regarding how society's attitudes have changed towards LGTBQI+ people, I found it particularly fascinating how it was previously not that big a deal to change gender on your birth certificate, yet partially as a result of this case and through changing societal attitudes, this became an issue mainly to do with fear that the male priomogenitive line would survive and exclude anybody considered to be female. Ewan Forbes's treatment at the hands of the medical establishment he was a part of and by the courts is shockingly cruel at times, even how the tabloid newspapers reported on people who changed genders, yet Playdon shows the reader that the fight to live in dignity and privacy is far from over for many people.

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Enlightening and enthralling! What begins as a legal dilemma soon becomes the story of Ewan Forbes and what a story it is! A life more eventful than fiction intertwined with the evolution of the transgender rights throughout the 20th century. This book is as eye opening as it is beautifully crafted and written. I loved every page of it and feel like a better human being because of it.

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This was completely interesting, I had never heard of this story - my knowledge of LGBTQ+ is very limited but I am learning.

I found the book very well researched and liked the way modern parallels were drawn.

I was given an advance copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

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