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Eugenia (2012)

by Mark Tedeschi(Favorite Author)

3.81 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

1922052299 (ISBN13: 9781922052292)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Simon & Schuster

review 1: This work by senior prosecutor Mark Tedeschi QC should be compulsory reading for law students considering a career in criminal law. The first part of this book is a biography of 'Eugenia' aka Harry Crawford, a wayward handyman who was born a female, but lived his life as male (out of respect for Harry I prefer to use the masculine name and pronoun - a courtesy not afforded to him whilst he was still alive). The biography section, whilst a little bland in style, focuses on the incredible hardships and events that culminated in the arrest of Harry for the murder of his 'wife' Annie Birkett. It's in part 2 that Tedeschi QC comes alive in writing style as he flexes his legal muscle and dissects, with acute surgical precision, the case at hand and reflects on how the police, ju... moredge, crown prosecutor and defence barrister (mis)handle the case. Tedeschi QC also puts the proceedings into historical perspective by contrasting with modern legal procedure. The most intriguing and valuable part of this book is seeing how an experienced QC looks at a case and develops a strategy. Though I'm sure not the intention of the book, this insight would be most revealing and valuable for any law student. This work also serves as a valuable historical work for those interested in LGBTIQ history and culture, especially in pre-WW2 Australia.
review 2: This story was a fascinating insight into the life of a trans-gender person in the 1920's. Eugenia was actually a woman who went by the name of Harry for many years. Although she had the sexual organs of a female her psychology was that of a man. She did hard manual labour for work, wore men's clothing and even married two women at different times. She had created a dildo and used this on women without them being aware of what was being used on them. Eventually her first wife discovered what she was and she got killed in an accident. Eugenia was eventually charged with her murder three years after the fact whilst in a relationship with another woman. I found the first half of the story really fascinating but the second half of the story comprised the court case, her jailing, her eventual release from prison and her life after prison. I found there was a lot of repetition in the court case and I got bogged down in all the details of the law. This lady really lived in the wrong time and was treated horribly. If she had lived in the present day so many more options for her sexuality would have been available. It was an interesting yet sad read. less

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