Peninsula of Lies is a nonfiction mystery, set in haunting locales and peopled with fascinating characters, that unwraps the enigma of a woman named Dawn Langley Simmons, a British writer who lived in Charleston, South Carolina, during the 1960s and became the focus of one of the most unusual sexual scandals of the last century.
Born in England sometime before World War II, Dawn Langley Simmons began life as a boy named Gordon Langley Hall. Gordon was the son of servants at Sissinghurst Castle, the estate of Vita Sackville-West, where as a child he met Vita's lover Virginia Woolf. In his twenties, Gordon made his way to New York, where he became an author of society biographies and befriended such grandes dames as the actress Margaret Rutherford and the artist and heiress Isabel Whitney, who left him a small fortune.
The money allowed Gordon to buy a mansion in Charleston and fill it with period furniture, providing a stage for him to entertain more great ladies and to climb the social ladder of the Southern gentry to its heights.
However, Gordon's world changed instantly in 1968, when at The Johns Hopkins Hospital he underwent one of the first sex-reassignment surgeries, returning to Southern society and scandalizing Charleston as the new Dawn Langley Hall. Dawn Hall furthermore announced that her surgery had been corrective, because she'd actually been misidentified as a boy at birth.
Three months later, Dawn raised the stakes in still-segregated Charleston when she arranged her very public marriage to a young black mechanic, John-Paul Simmons. In due course, Dawn appeared around town pregnant; finally, she could be seen pushing a baby carriage with a child -- her daughter, Natasha.
National Book Award-winning author Edward Ball (Slaves in the Family) has written a detective story that deciphers the riddle of Dawn Simmons, a once rich and infamous changeling who died in 2000, her sexual identity never determined.
Peninsula of Lies is an engrossing narrative of a person who tested every taboo, as well as the confidence of observers in their own eyes.
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Very Good. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR004587801
Book Description Condition: Good. Most items will be dispatched the same or the next working day. Ex library copy with usual stamps & stickers. Seller Inventory # wbs8597609642
Book Description Paperback. Condition: Used; Very Good. ***Simply Brit*** Welcome to our online used book store, where affordability meets great quality. Dive into a world of captivating reads without breaking the bank. We take pride in offering a wide selection of used books, from classics to hidden gems, ensuring there is something for every literary palate. All orders are shipped within 24 hours and our lightning fast-delivery within 48 hours coupled with our prompt customer service ensures a smooth journey from ordering to delivery. Discover the joy of reading with us, your trusted source for affordable books that do not compromise on quality. Seller Inventory # 3585258
Book Description Paperback. 1. A Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil style tale of sexual duplicity and scandal that sweeps from Sissinghurst Castle in Kent to Charleston, South Carolina. The life of Gordon Langley Hall was full of mystery and riddled with rumour and scandal. The illegitimate son of two servants at Sissinghurst Castle, (home of Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson), he became the unexpected recipient of an American heiress's millions. He went on to become an author, writing several biographies including that of the eccentric English actress Margaret Rutherford (Miss Marple). But then he surprised his contemporaries by moving to Charleston, South Carolina, having a sex change, and reinventing himself as Dawn Langley Hall. The mystery deepened when Dawn married a young black mechanic in the racially charged atmosphere of South Carolina in the 1960s. Then she appeared in the streets of the town apparently pregnant and was seen several months later pushing a child in a pram. In this rollercoaster tale, Edward Ball, winner of the American National Book Award, unravels the mysteries surrounding this truly unique life. 2.3 Centimeters X 12.8 Centimeters X 19.8 Centimeters. Seller Inventory # 7929334