In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, multi award-winning biographer Dr Jacqueline Kent chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about her choices while crafting Bonjour, Mademoiselle! April Ashley and the pursuit of a lovely life, the glittering story of April Ashley, model and trans pioneer.
‘I lapped [it] up’, Spectator Books of the Year, 2024
Bonjour, Mademoiselle!
In 1935, April Ashley was assigned as male at birth and his parents named him George Jamieson. In Bonjour, Mademoiselle! Jacqueline Kent explored George’s early life in the deprived dock area of Liverpool in England, where he endured a tough, loveless childhood and was conflicted about his gender identity from an early age.
Bonjour, Mademoiselle! chronicles George’s experiences navigating a world that failed to understand him, and his eventual decision to undergo gender confirmation surgery in Casablanca in 1960, one of the first Britons to do so.
During the 1960s, April Ashley embodied the newfound spirit of hedonism and glamour as a fashion model and socialite who rose to the heights of London society.
April Ashley: Her Early Life
The National Archives
However, in 1961, a friend sold April’s story to a tabloid, and she was told she would never again work in the UK. Later, her brief marriage to Arthur Corbett, the son of a baron, set off a high-profile divorce battle, resulting in a landmark 1970 decision denying transgender women legal status as women and denying April Ashley her husband’s inheritance.
In this a hybrid of social history and biography, Dr Jacqueline Kent’s and Dr Tom Roberts’s meticulous research about April, the history of transgender rights, and the trailblazing individuals who shaped it enabled them to share the full story of April Ashley’s extraordinary life at the vanguard of the sexual revolution and the movement for trans equality.
April Ashley During Her Modelling Career, 1960s
The National Archives
Jacqueline Kent’s dedication to capturing the essence of April’s journey is evident in every page of Bonjour, Mademoiselle! Her ability to weave together personal anecdotes, historical context and social commentary creates a rich tapestry that not only honours April’s legacy but also educates and inspires.
The biography brings to light the struggles and triumphs of a trailblazer who, despite facing immense adversity, remained steadfast in her pursuit of her vision for herself and the transgender community. In 2012, April Ashley was awarded an MBE for services to transgender equality.
April Ashley During Her Modelling Career, 1960s
The National Archives
Bonjour, Mademoiselle is testament to April’s resilience and determination as she faced prejudice and discrimination, all the while remaining steadfast in her pursuit of authenticity. The book is much more than a biographical account of April’s journey; it’s a celebration of resilience, courage and the enduring power of the human spirit.
Bonjour, Mademoiselle is a testament to the power of storytelling to illuminate the human experience and to inspire long overdue change in transgender rights.
Transgender pioneer April Ashley - 1980 interview
April Ashley interview | Good Afternoon | Thames Television
April Ashley On Getting A Sex Change In 1960 | Loose Women
April Ashley - Portrait of a Lady - Video Slideshow
Praise for Bonjour, Mademoiselle! April Ashley and the pursuit of a lovely life
‘Jacqueline Kent and Tom Roberts, give a lesson in amiable tolerance and handle other thorny subjects without a touch of militancy. Their lesson seems to be that only fools rush in to judge what they cannot understand.’
‘Kent and Roberts have situated April Ashley’s life in its broader political and social context. Thorough and eminently readable, the book strikes an engaging, affectionate tone for their at times poorly behaved and doubtless traumatised subject. With tact and curiosity, the authors examine Ashley’s frosty attitude towards her mother and her possibly unwarranted reverence for her father. ... Bonjour, Mademoiselle has captured Ashley’s optimistic, courageous approach to life.'
April’s extraordinarily courageous and pioneering personal journey is the story of a trans life well lived. At times heartbreaking, this book documents her setbacks — and also her ultimate triumph as a much-loved trans hero!
Peter Tatchell, LGBT+ and human rights defender
This book is about April’s triumphant journey to be the woman she was born to be.
Boy George
A dazzling account of a unique life woven into the wider story of dramatic social change across the best part of a century. It is also a story which resonates to the present day.
Paul Baker, author of Fabulosa! the story of Polari, Britain’s secret gay language
More twists and turns to it than the maze at Hampton Court!
Sir Roy Strong, former director of Victoria and Albert Museum
From Smithdown Road, Liverpool to London high society, this entertaining biography does her extraordinary story justice.
Paul Burston, author of We Can Be Heroes
A thoroughly entertaining ride through swinging London and beyond.
Sophia Blackwell ResonanceFM
About Jacqueline Kent
Dr Jacqueline Kent trained as a journalist and broadcaster. A book editor and reviewer for numerous publications, she has a Doctor of Creative Arts from the University of Technology, Sydney. As well as biography and general social history, she has written fiction for young adults.
Jacqueline Kent is the author of six acclaimed biographies. A Certain Style, her biography of pioneering editor Beatrice Davis, won the National Biography Award, Australia’s premier prize for life writing.
Jacqueline Kent’s life writing works include:
- Bonjour, Mademoiselle! April Ashley and the pursuit of a lovely life, Scribe 2024
- Vida: A woman for our time Penguin 2020
- Beyond Words: A Year with Kenneth Cook, University of Queensland Press, 2019.
- A Certain Style: Beatrice Davis, a Literary Life, Viking, 2001 and NewSouth, 2018
- Take Your Best Shot: The Prime Ministership of Julia Gillard, Penguin, 2013
- The Making of Julia Gillard, Viking, 2009
- An Exacting Heart: The Story of Hephzibah Menuhin, Viking, 2008
About Tom Roberts
Dr Tom Roberts is an author and historian. He holds master’s degrees from the universities of Westminster and Cambridge and a PhD in modern history from Macquarie University. His books include Before Rupert, winner of the 2017 National Biography Award, and How Trump Thinks.
Bonjour, Mademoiselle! Interviews and Articles
April Ashley - the life of a glamorous model, and trans pioneer, Late Night Live, ABC Radio National, 23 January 2025.
Book Review: Bonjour, Mademoiselle! April Ashley and the Pursuit of a Lovely Life. Reviewed by Roger Lewis.
Bonjour, Mademoiselle! review — April Ashley, England’s first ‘sex change’ celebrity.