Episode 19: "Pray did you ever hear of the famouss Mademoiselle d’eon?"

Your Most Obedient & Humble Servant: A Women's History

Abigail "Nabby" Adams to John Quincy Adams, 27 Nov. 1785 In which Nabby Adams describes the Chevalier D'Eon as "a singular figure, as well as an extrordinary Character." Much has been written about the legendary D'Eon, and in this episode Julia Ftacek, a scholar of transgender femininity in 18th century literature, and Kathryn, discuss what D'Eon's life tells us about gender roles both in the 18th century and today. Further reading: Full text of the letter: http://www.masshist.org/publications/adams-papers/index.php/view/ADMS-04-06-02-0152 Ftacek, Julia, The body as Rorschach: Trans Interventions and the Trouble with History, Medium.com, 15 Feb. 2019. https://juliaftacek.medium.com/the-body-as-rorschach-trans-interventions-and-the-trouble-with-history-53057d530ead Gaillardet, Frédéric. 1970. The memoirs of Chevalier d'Éon. London: Blond. Robinson, Mary. Walsingham: Or, the Pupil of Nature. United States: Broadview Press, 2003. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Walsingham/kQc5AwAAQBAJ?hl=en Kates, Gary, "The Transgendered World of The Chevalier/Chevalière d'Eon," in The Journal of Modern History, Sept. 1995, pp. 558-594. Lander, James, "A Tale of Two Hoaxes in Britain and France in 1775," in The Historical Journal, Dec. 2006. pp. 995-1024 Kates, Gary. 2001. Monsieur d'Eon is a woman: a tale of political intrigue and sexual masquerade. Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press.