Mainstream Books with TG Characters:
Comic Romps
By Elizabeth Parker
We're going to turn our attention this
month to one of my favorite forms of fiction, what I call
the comic romp. Unfortunately, a bad comic romp is the
one most commonly found. But when the rare gem is
encountered it is cause for high celebration. And when
that good romp also features the use of transgendered
characters, I assure you I stay up all night or miss work
to complete the book
What do I mean by a comic romp?
It is usually found in thrillers and mysteries, and some
science fiction (in science fiction, the space opera is a
good example). The characters, both heroes and villains
are not too menacing. They may be bumbling. The action is
nonstop, and often a lot of territory is covered.
Believability is not the primary goal of the story,
though the better ones do not stretch it too much. In
other words, it is just a fun story, which moves fast,
has enjoyable characters on both sides of the law, and
utilizes lots of novel plot devices to move the story
along.
The first book is "Cosi Fan Tutti",
by Michael Dibdin. Dibdin is the same author who wrote "Cabal",
reviewed here in June. He gives us more transgender
material in his latest outing.
If the name "Cosi Fan Tutti" sounds familiar
to you, it is probably because you are a fan of opera.
"Cosi Fan Tutti" is the name of Mozart and
Lorenzo Daponte's comic opera of the same name. As you
may or may not know, that opera is one of the classic
stories of multiple mistaken identities. Without
checking, I don't believe it contains crossdressing
though, unlike many other operas of the same type. Never
fear though, Dibdin gives it his own unique twist.
Aurelio Zen is back, this time posted to the Naples
harbor police as a banishment for a wrongful arrest. He
just tries to blend into the background of the Naples
scenery and stay out of trouble. Nevertheless Zen manages
to create trouble all by himself, by posing as someone
he's not to a beautiful widow. To impress her, he
arranges for her marriageable daughters to travel to
London and for a pair of prostitutes to be dangled before
their mobster boyfriends. The plot goes crazy at this
point, and Dibdin fits the action within the framework of
the opera beautifully.
Believe it or not, I'm not going to spoil this book
for you. There is some great crossdressing and you will
need to look for it. By the end of the book, you will
discover that practically everyone in the book is in
disguise, in one form or another.
The second book this month is "Romanesque",
by Ralph McInery. I'll apologize right now, as this book
has been out of print for some time. But it will be worth
your while to find it in your local library or used
bookstore. I couldn't believe it when I discovered that
no one has listed this book as it has been around for
awhile, and McInery is a very popular author.
No, this isn't a Father Dowling mystery. It is a brief
departure for McInery, who creates a nice, bumbling hero
in Jim Dancy, a bookish renaissance history scholar. He
accepts a too-good-to-be-true job offer in Rome,
researching ancient manuscripts. Immediately upon arrival
he is swept up in many strange events and meets many
unique people, including a beautiful girl, Polly, and his
hotel neighbor, an exotic redhead. The plot is too
complicated to detail here, but the redhead turns out to
be a crossdressing CIA agent. Apparently the agent works
in drag pretty much all of the time, as he possesses few
male clothes. But that is not the best part of the book!
Soon Dancy finds himself on the run, and he invades the
agent's room for a disguise. Now he starts off the story
fully bearded so this is quite a change of pace for our
hero. But he makes the best of it and goes on the limp
(the shoes don't fit). He holes up at Polly's apartment
and she seems to find his disguise exciting. He gets into
drag several more times, and must deal with amorous
Italian men and boys during his excursions.
As a bonus, let me remind you of the classic comic
romp of all time, which longtime TG fiction fans will
immediately recognize. "Masqueraders",
by Georgette Heyer, is historical fiction set in Regency
England. The main characters are a brother and sister who
each dress as the opposite sex to escape retaliation for
aiding the wrong side in one of the many wars prevalent
in England at that time. The sister is more handsome than
pretty, and makes a fine strapping fellow. The brother is
built delicately, and is a consummate actor. He fits his
role well, and seems to enjoy it. He does enjoy women,
and is also a fine fighter. They make quite a splash on
the London social scene, and enjoy themselves immensely
while biding time waiting for their rogue of a father to
appear on the scene. This is a book where the
crossdressing is front and center for most of the book.
You can't do much better than these books if you like
comic romps. If you've run across a good romp, let me
know at 72117.571@compuserve.com.
Next month I'll introduce you to an exciting new
author and two great series.
Bibliography
Dibdin, Michael, "Cosi Fan Tutti", Pantheon
Group, May 1 1997, ISBN: 0679442723
Heyer, Georgette, "Masqueraders", Fawcett
Books, January 1979, ISBN: 0449232530
Heyer, Georgette, "Masqueraders", Amereon
Ltd., October 1983, ISBN: 0891907823
Heyer, Georgette, "Masqueraders", Bantam
Books, September 1985, ISBN: 0553253816
McInery, Ralph, "Romanesque", Harpercollins,
May 1978, ISBN: 0060129662
McInery, Ralph, "Romanesque", St. Martins
Press, April 1979, ISBN: 0876631340
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