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Dr James Barry: A Woman Ahead of Her Time
Dr James Barry: Inspector General of Hospitals, army surgeon, duellist, reformer, ladykiller, eccentric. He performed the first successful Caesarean in the British Empire, outraged the military establishment and gave Florence Nightingale a dressing down at Scutari. At home he was surrounded by a menagerie of animals, including a cat, a goat, a parrot and a terrier. Long ago in Cork, Ireland, he had also been a mother.
This is the amazing tale of Margaret Anne Bulkley, the young woman who broke the rules of Georgian society to become one of the most respected surgeons of the century. In an extraordinary life, she crossed paths with the British Empire’s great and good, royalty and rebels, soldiers and slaves. A medical pioneer, she rose to a position that no woman before her had been allowed to occupy, but for all her successes, her long, audacious deception also left her isolated, even costing her the chance to be with the man she loved.
This is the amazing tale of Margaret Anne Bulkley, the young woman who broke the rules of Georgian society to become one of the most respected surgeons of the century. In an extraordinary life, she crossed paths with the British Empire’s great and good, royalty and rebels, soldiers and slaves. A medical pioneer, she rose to a position that no woman before her had been allowed to occupy, but for all her successes, her long, audacious deception also left her isolated, even costing her the chance to be with the man she loved.
495 pages, Paperback
First published August 25, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
July 26, 2021
This book is extremely transphobic, and completely ignores the fact that James clearly identified as male. This book erases the trans-masculine experience. This is also a clear example of cis washing history. Dr James Barry was a trans-man no if's, and's or but's about it.
August 18, 2021
This is an entertaining and informative biography, if overly novelistic in places. James Barry was a decorated British military doctor in the 19th century, performing the empire’s first successful caesarian section in South Africa, rooting out corruption and incompetence and frequently tangling with the authorities, and ultimately reaching the highest ranks of the British military establishment. Always known as an eccentric and effeminate figure, Barry was in fact a woman (born Margaret Bulkley) disguised as a man, in a daring scheme to obtain education and professional opportunities unavailable to women of her time.
At nearly 400 pages of text (plus endnotes etc.), this book has a lot to cover. Margaret Bulkley came from a middle-class Irish family in Cork that lost their money due to her father’s and brother’s unwise decisions, and moved to London with her mother in her late teens in a last-ditch effort to obtain the estate of the mother’s deceased brother, a painter named James Barry. Margaret was a promising student, but the only position available to young women of her class was the poorly paid and generally pitied job of governess (a live-in nanny/tutor), and even that was hard to come by without connections. Together with a group of family friends, including an idealistic Venezuelan general, they hit upon a plan: Margaret would disguise herself as a man (pretending to be a fictional nephew named for the famous uncle) long enough to obtain a medical education in Edinburgh, then shuck off the disguise and move to a new, utopian Venezuela to practice in a country that would make no distinctions based on sex.
The utopia part didn’t pan out, but the medical education did, and Barry subsequently joined the British military and was posted around the world: South Africa, Jamaica, St. Helena, Malta, Canada, and more. While medicine at the time had its limitations, Barry seems to have been an excellent doctor, and also had quite a colorful career due to her tendency to pick fights with anyone and everyone, especially those in power. The book focuses in on times of drama, of which there was a lot, including litigation, court martials, etc. But, one of the co-authors being a doctor, there’s also plenty of interesting medical information, and it’s certainly an interesting tour of the British Empire (I would have liked a little more critique of the imperial project, but books about Brits never really do this).
Through it all, Barry’s disguise remained in place, which led to some fascinating permutations. In medical school, she was assumed to be such a young boy that her graduation was thrown into question, and continuing doubts about her age held back her career for several years—but then once finally posted to South Africa, she got a boost from having been a “child prodigy.” Unsurprisingly for the times, her disguise wasn’t great: her height, smooth face and high voice were giveaways, and she seems to have never really picked up male mannerisms or body language; everyone commented on her effeminacy, and many suspected and a few actually found out that she was a woman. Nevertheless, a combination of British reserve, Barry’s very aggressive responses to questions and spying, and disbelief at the notion that a woman could really have accomplished everything Barry did meant people kept quiet about their suspicions until after her death (when her accomplishments were quickly discounted on the basis that a woman couldn’t possibly have done all that).
The book refers to Barry as “James” when discussing her persona, and “Margaret” when discussing her youth and inner life, with the corresponding pronouns. Every book about Barry seems to attract pronoun-related complaints from people who want to see Barry regarded as a trans man in the modern sense. However, the only evidence for this is the disguise itself, and women’s history is full of women disguising themselves as men to do things otherwise forbidden to them. (This continues to the present day in oppressive countries; check out The Underground Girls of Kabul for example.) Barry went to medical school at the time of Jane Austen, when a respectable woman could barely make a livelihood, let alone have the sort of fulfilling, globetrotting, influential career that Barry had. It would be more than 50 years before a woman was openly allowed to graduate from medical school in the U.K. (and it took that woman, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, more than a decade of finagling, and far more family funds and support than Barry had), and more than a century before female doctors were allowed to do more than treat women and children, generally in charitable establishments where their uncertain salaries depended on donations from wealthy friends. A male disguise was the obvious practical choice, and was also suggested to other female medical pioneers, including Elizabeth Blackwell. While that doesn’t entirely rule out the theory that Barry was trans, there are other good indications that she wasn’t. As a young woman, she was seen as outgoing and charming, but for the first several years as a man, she was extremely withdrawn, which indicates much less comfort in the male guise; her initial plan was to return to living as a woman if circumstances allowed; and upon her death, she was discovered to have a hidden collection of fashion plates depicting women’s clothing and hairstyles.
My biggest criticism of this biography is that, particularly early on, it’s overly novelistic, embellishing scenes about which we don’t have that much information. The prologue, which purports to relate Barry’s dying thoughts, is definitely the worst (I doubt I’d have read the book had I been able to preview before buying), but there are other examples. The authors will tell the story of Barry’s arrival at a place based on other people’s accounts of having arrived there, and in one egregious example, they have an anatomy teacher creepily pointing out a corpse’s breasts to her, when it turns out that these words were taken from the teacher’s textbook and there’s no reason to believe he said them to Barry. Fortunately, the book is sufficiently well-sourced, and the authors sufficiently honest, that readers can see where their information comes from, and the novelistic elements decrease significantly as the book goes on, likely because more records are available about Barry’s later life. On the positive side, there’s something to be said for a novelist’s grasp of pacing and scene-setting, and the speculation generally seems well-grounded.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this biography and learned from it—definitely worth a read for the curious!
At nearly 400 pages of text (plus endnotes etc.), this book has a lot to cover. Margaret Bulkley came from a middle-class Irish family in Cork that lost their money due to her father’s and brother’s unwise decisions, and moved to London with her mother in her late teens in a last-ditch effort to obtain the estate of the mother’s deceased brother, a painter named James Barry. Margaret was a promising student, but the only position available to young women of her class was the poorly paid and generally pitied job of governess (a live-in nanny/tutor), and even that was hard to come by without connections. Together with a group of family friends, including an idealistic Venezuelan general, they hit upon a plan: Margaret would disguise herself as a man (pretending to be a fictional nephew named for the famous uncle) long enough to obtain a medical education in Edinburgh, then shuck off the disguise and move to a new, utopian Venezuela to practice in a country that would make no distinctions based on sex.
The utopia part didn’t pan out, but the medical education did, and Barry subsequently joined the British military and was posted around the world: South Africa, Jamaica, St. Helena, Malta, Canada, and more. While medicine at the time had its limitations, Barry seems to have been an excellent doctor, and also had quite a colorful career due to her tendency to pick fights with anyone and everyone, especially those in power. The book focuses in on times of drama, of which there was a lot, including litigation, court martials, etc. But, one of the co-authors being a doctor, there’s also plenty of interesting medical information, and it’s certainly an interesting tour of the British Empire (I would have liked a little more critique of the imperial project, but books about Brits never really do this).
Through it all, Barry’s disguise remained in place, which led to some fascinating permutations. In medical school, she was assumed to be such a young boy that her graduation was thrown into question, and continuing doubts about her age held back her career for several years—but then once finally posted to South Africa, she got a boost from having been a “child prodigy.” Unsurprisingly for the times, her disguise wasn’t great: her height, smooth face and high voice were giveaways, and she seems to have never really picked up male mannerisms or body language; everyone commented on her effeminacy, and many suspected and a few actually found out that she was a woman. Nevertheless, a combination of British reserve, Barry’s very aggressive responses to questions and spying, and disbelief at the notion that a woman could really have accomplished everything Barry did meant people kept quiet about their suspicions until after her death (when her accomplishments were quickly discounted on the basis that a woman couldn’t possibly have done all that).
The book refers to Barry as “James” when discussing her persona, and “Margaret” when discussing her youth and inner life, with the corresponding pronouns. Every book about Barry seems to attract pronoun-related complaints from people who want to see Barry regarded as a trans man in the modern sense. However, the only evidence for this is the disguise itself, and women’s history is full of women disguising themselves as men to do things otherwise forbidden to them. (This continues to the present day in oppressive countries; check out The Underground Girls of Kabul for example.) Barry went to medical school at the time of Jane Austen, when a respectable woman could barely make a livelihood, let alone have the sort of fulfilling, globetrotting, influential career that Barry had. It would be more than 50 years before a woman was openly allowed to graduate from medical school in the U.K. (and it took that woman, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, more than a decade of finagling, and far more family funds and support than Barry had), and more than a century before female doctors were allowed to do more than treat women and children, generally in charitable establishments where their uncertain salaries depended on donations from wealthy friends. A male disguise was the obvious practical choice, and was also suggested to other female medical pioneers, including Elizabeth Blackwell. While that doesn’t entirely rule out the theory that Barry was trans, there are other good indications that she wasn’t. As a young woman, she was seen as outgoing and charming, but for the first several years as a man, she was extremely withdrawn, which indicates much less comfort in the male guise; her initial plan was to return to living as a woman if circumstances allowed; and upon her death, she was discovered to have a hidden collection of fashion plates depicting women’s clothing and hairstyles.
My biggest criticism of this biography is that, particularly early on, it’s overly novelistic, embellishing scenes about which we don’t have that much information. The prologue, which purports to relate Barry’s dying thoughts, is definitely the worst (I doubt I’d have read the book had I been able to preview before buying), but there are other examples. The authors will tell the story of Barry’s arrival at a place based on other people’s accounts of having arrived there, and in one egregious example, they have an anatomy teacher creepily pointing out a corpse’s breasts to her, when it turns out that these words were taken from the teacher’s textbook and there’s no reason to believe he said them to Barry. Fortunately, the book is sufficiently well-sourced, and the authors sufficiently honest, that readers can see where their information comes from, and the novelistic elements decrease significantly as the book goes on, likely because more records are available about Barry’s later life. On the positive side, there’s something to be said for a novelist’s grasp of pacing and scene-setting, and the speculation generally seems well-grounded.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this biography and learned from it—definitely worth a read for the curious!
November 4, 2018
This book is undoubtedly one of the best biographies I've ever read.
The dustjacket blurb reveals that Dr. James Barry
"was many things in his life: Inspector General of Hospitals, army surgeon, duellist, reformer, ladykiller, eccentric. He performed the first successful Caesarean in the British Empire, outraged the military establishment, and gave Florence Nightingale a dressing down at Scutari."
Barry had left Ireland and enrolled in medical school in Edinburgh in 1809, and in his last year of study nearly missed being able to take his final exams because he was believed to be "too young to take a degree." By 1812, though, he had graduated as an MD. It was then that "Dr. James Barry had been officially conjured into existence," which may seem an odd statement except for the fact that James Barry had started his life as Margaret Bulkley in 1789.
The story, however, opens with Barry's death in 1865 and the discovery of Barry's long-held secret. It was shortly afterward that "the sensational story flew around the Empire,
reaching the ears of people who'd known James Barry throughout his career and all the way back to his youth more than half a century earlier."
The question then arises not only as to how all of these people who'd known him could have missed the fact that Barry was actually a woman, but also how he managed to pull off this "audacious deception," but more importantly, as the authors ask,
"...if she wasn't 'James Barry' -- which she manifestly wasn't -- then who the devil was she?"
To answer those questions, the two authors of this book then move back in time, starting in Ireland with Margaret's childhood, moving on to the plan for Margaret to pose as a young man as a means to acquire an excellent education; they move next to James Miranda Barry's time at university in Edinburgh for medical training and finally to his long and distinguished career as an Army doctor.
Anyone considering reading this biography ought to know that while each and every facet of this study has been meticulously researched, Dr. James Barry: A Woman Ahead of Her Time is a compelling read that kept me turning pages. Margaret Bulkley made a choice that allowed her to live life to its fullest, and while we get some hints that she may have missed her identity as a woman at times (for example her trunk with the pictures of ladies' fashions on the lid), for both Margaret and for James Miranda Barry it seemed to have been the right choice.
An excellent and truly exquisite book, I would recommend it to anyone.
more here, no spoilers: http://www.nonfictionrealstuff.com/20...
The dustjacket blurb reveals that Dr. James Barry
"was many things in his life: Inspector General of Hospitals, army surgeon, duellist, reformer, ladykiller, eccentric. He performed the first successful Caesarean in the British Empire, outraged the military establishment, and gave Florence Nightingale a dressing down at Scutari."
Barry had left Ireland and enrolled in medical school in Edinburgh in 1809, and in his last year of study nearly missed being able to take his final exams because he was believed to be "too young to take a degree." By 1812, though, he had graduated as an MD. It was then that "Dr. James Barry had been officially conjured into existence," which may seem an odd statement except for the fact that James Barry had started his life as Margaret Bulkley in 1789.
The story, however, opens with Barry's death in 1865 and the discovery of Barry's long-held secret. It was shortly afterward that "the sensational story flew around the Empire,
reaching the ears of people who'd known James Barry throughout his career and all the way back to his youth more than half a century earlier."
The question then arises not only as to how all of these people who'd known him could have missed the fact that Barry was actually a woman, but also how he managed to pull off this "audacious deception," but more importantly, as the authors ask,
"...if she wasn't 'James Barry' -- which she manifestly wasn't -- then who the devil was she?"
To answer those questions, the two authors of this book then move back in time, starting in Ireland with Margaret's childhood, moving on to the plan for Margaret to pose as a young man as a means to acquire an excellent education; they move next to James Miranda Barry's time at university in Edinburgh for medical training and finally to his long and distinguished career as an Army doctor.
Anyone considering reading this biography ought to know that while each and every facet of this study has been meticulously researched, Dr. James Barry: A Woman Ahead of Her Time is a compelling read that kept me turning pages. Margaret Bulkley made a choice that allowed her to live life to its fullest, and while we get some hints that she may have missed her identity as a woman at times (for example her trunk with the pictures of ladies' fashions on the lid), for both Margaret and for James Miranda Barry it seemed to have been the right choice.
An excellent and truly exquisite book, I would recommend it to anyone.
more here, no spoilers: http://www.nonfictionrealstuff.com/20...
October 9, 2016
I've been intrigued by the story of James Miranda Barry for a while, but for some reason her extraordinary story has been relatively neglected by history and until now I've never been able to lay my hands on a full-length biography. That historical neglect itself is surprising, since it's hard to think of a more incredible tale - someone that almost too incredible to be true.
A young Irish woman, Margaret Bulkley to be precise, who disguises herself as a man to attend medical school, intending only to disguise herself for its duration, with plans to travel to South America and practise openly as a woman. Her plans were derailed and she spent the rest of her life in the persona of Dr James Barry, joining the Army no less, and convincing every single person around her, from doctors to soldiers, dukes to queens, slaves and servants, that she was a man - a small slight eccentric man, to be sure, somewhat effeminate, but still a man. Her secret was only revealed on her deathbed by an old woman tasked with laying-out the corpse.
Margaret/James crossed paths when many of the great names of her time - Queen Victorian, the Duke of Wellington, Florence Nightingale - none of whom suspected. She was greatly respected in the army medical community, and when she died, Dr Barry was the ranking equivalent of a brigadier general. It would take another 150 years before a woman would hold such a rank again. It's a remarkable tale, and one well told by the authors. Considering how much mystery Margaret/James' life has been shrouded in, the amount of research required to write this book must have been truly exhausting, but it's more than paid of. I could hardly put this down.
One of the most fascinating aspects of Margaret/James' story is how the prevailing sexism and misogyny of her society, whilst forcing her down this path in the first place, also strongly contributed to enabling her to keep her secret. There were many rumours about Margaret/James, stories that she was really a woman, but they were never believed - because how could a woman practice medicine? How could a woman be so firm and decisive? How could a woman command men like that? How could a woman hoodwink the entire medical community, not to mention the British Army? No woman could behave like that; women were not capable of such verve and intelligence and determination, ergo Dr Barry could not be a woman. And yet...
A young Irish woman, Margaret Bulkley to be precise, who disguises herself as a man to attend medical school, intending only to disguise herself for its duration, with plans to travel to South America and practise openly as a woman. Her plans were derailed and she spent the rest of her life in the persona of Dr James Barry, joining the Army no less, and convincing every single person around her, from doctors to soldiers, dukes to queens, slaves and servants, that she was a man - a small slight eccentric man, to be sure, somewhat effeminate, but still a man. Her secret was only revealed on her deathbed by an old woman tasked with laying-out the corpse.
Margaret/James crossed paths when many of the great names of her time - Queen Victorian, the Duke of Wellington, Florence Nightingale - none of whom suspected. She was greatly respected in the army medical community, and when she died, Dr Barry was the ranking equivalent of a brigadier general. It would take another 150 years before a woman would hold such a rank again. It's a remarkable tale, and one well told by the authors. Considering how much mystery Margaret/James' life has been shrouded in, the amount of research required to write this book must have been truly exhausting, but it's more than paid of. I could hardly put this down.
One of the most fascinating aspects of Margaret/James' story is how the prevailing sexism and misogyny of her society, whilst forcing her down this path in the first place, also strongly contributed to enabling her to keep her secret. There were many rumours about Margaret/James, stories that she was really a woman, but they were never believed - because how could a woman practice medicine? How could a woman be so firm and decisive? How could a woman command men like that? How could a woman hoodwink the entire medical community, not to mention the British Army? No woman could behave like that; women were not capable of such verve and intelligence and determination, ergo Dr Barry could not be a woman. And yet...
March 19, 2022
This work is transphobic.
June 3, 2020
Margaret Bulkley was a bright young Irish girl who wanted to become a doctor. Unfortunately, 19th century society decreed that having a vagina meant your only goal in life was to look pretty and bear many babies. So, with the help of her mother and some friends, she disguised herself as a male and went to medical school in Edinburgh. And thus was born Dr James Barry, named after Margaret's maternal uncle. They qualified, joined the army as a surgeon and went on to have a glittering career that took them around the globe. They performed the first successful caesarean section in the British Empire and formed many connections with high ranking gentlemen. Some suspected, one or two found out that James wasn't a man but kept their secret and it was only revealed that James was a woman when they died. This was a fascinating biography of someone who lived an incredible life. I have so many questions that couldn't possibly be answered but this is definitely worth reading. Margaret/James is someone who deserves to have a film made about their life.
September 1, 2021
you should be ashamed of yourself. this book is transphobic, dr. james barry was a TRANS MAN. shame on the author and everyone who enjoys this book
September 6, 2017
For my full review: http://girlwithherheadinabook.co.uk/2...
Like Pope Joan, so has faded the life of Dr James Barry. He achieved huge things with his life, travelled far and wide, was the first person in the British Empire to perform a caesarean which resulted in the survival of both mother and baby and rose to the rank of Inspector General of hospitals. He fought a duel, he shouted at Florence Nightingale in public, he weathered multiple arrest attempts and official army inquiries. Yet all his life's achievements have been forgotten in favour of the secret discovered only upon his death - there was no such person as Dr James Barry. All his life, he had been in disguise. The doctor was a woman. This myth of the impostor female physician has grown huge, all the more because Dr Barry's corpse also showed clear signs that she had given birth, most likely at a young age. In A Woman Ahead Of Her Time, Michael du Preez and Jeremy Dronfield finally grant a voice not just to one of the medical pioneers of the Victorian age but also his forgotten earlier self, finally providing hard evidence that before there was James, there was Margaret.
A Woman Ahead Of Her Time takes an novelistic approach, opening in 1865 with the moment of death, with the old gentleman slipping from life with the strange feeling that he had forgotten something. During previous illnesses, James Barry had left strict instructions that his corpse should be buried without being examined. This time, he did not. The momentous discovery is made, the secret kept for over half a century is out and so the question rises - if this woman was not - could not have been - James Barry, who was she? From there, Dronfield and du Preez skip back to 1790s Cork and one Margaret Bulkley, daughter to a spendthrift grocer. Trying to track down the life story of someone who went out of their way to obliterate their own history is no easy thing and it is a testament to the decade of research which Michael du Preez undertook that such a compelling case has been put together.
Full review on website
Like Pope Joan, so has faded the life of Dr James Barry. He achieved huge things with his life, travelled far and wide, was the first person in the British Empire to perform a caesarean which resulted in the survival of both mother and baby and rose to the rank of Inspector General of hospitals. He fought a duel, he shouted at Florence Nightingale in public, he weathered multiple arrest attempts and official army inquiries. Yet all his life's achievements have been forgotten in favour of the secret discovered only upon his death - there was no such person as Dr James Barry. All his life, he had been in disguise. The doctor was a woman. This myth of the impostor female physician has grown huge, all the more because Dr Barry's corpse also showed clear signs that she had given birth, most likely at a young age. In A Woman Ahead Of Her Time, Michael du Preez and Jeremy Dronfield finally grant a voice not just to one of the medical pioneers of the Victorian age but also his forgotten earlier self, finally providing hard evidence that before there was James, there was Margaret.
A Woman Ahead Of Her Time takes an novelistic approach, opening in 1865 with the moment of death, with the old gentleman slipping from life with the strange feeling that he had forgotten something. During previous illnesses, James Barry had left strict instructions that his corpse should be buried without being examined. This time, he did not. The momentous discovery is made, the secret kept for over half a century is out and so the question rises - if this woman was not - could not have been - James Barry, who was she? From there, Dronfield and du Preez skip back to 1790s Cork and one Margaret Bulkley, daughter to a spendthrift grocer. Trying to track down the life story of someone who went out of their way to obliterate their own history is no easy thing and it is a testament to the decade of research which Michael du Preez undertook that such a compelling case has been put together.
Full review on website
March 31, 2018
Excellent biography of an extraordinary individual. This is Dr James Barry:
After spending her youth having her money, her home and her good name ruined by one incompetent, irresponsible man after another, she managed, with the help of friends, to cross-dress successfully enough to go to university, learn to practice medicine, and then spend her life travelling the world, being an amazing doctor and climbing the ranks of the British Army. And all this in the early to mid 19th century.
Even though the subject matter is fascinating, the authors of this biography deserve kudos. They don't attempt to fictionalise James' story too much, as so many new biographies and non-fiction books do. I sometimes read these non-fiction books, in which the authors colour in the spaces between facts with their own imagination in such a way that it's impossible to tell which is which, and I hate it. This isn't the case here. There's an extensive bibliography in the back, but even from the text itself it is easy to see where the authors have sourced their information and how reliable it is. At the same time, they have gone to amazing amounts of detail, and managed, despite this wealth of information, to keep the pace of the story going, and to keep you invested and interested.
Highly recommended.
After spending her youth having her money, her home and her good name ruined by one incompetent, irresponsible man after another, she managed, with the help of friends, to cross-dress successfully enough to go to university, learn to practice medicine, and then spend her life travelling the world, being an amazing doctor and climbing the ranks of the British Army. And all this in the early to mid 19th century.
Even though the subject matter is fascinating, the authors of this biography deserve kudos. They don't attempt to fictionalise James' story too much, as so many new biographies and non-fiction books do. I sometimes read these non-fiction books, in which the authors colour in the spaces between facts with their own imagination in such a way that it's impossible to tell which is which, and I hate it. This isn't the case here. There's an extensive bibliography in the back, but even from the text itself it is easy to see where the authors have sourced their information and how reliable it is. At the same time, they have gone to amazing amounts of detail, and managed, despite this wealth of information, to keep the pace of the story going, and to keep you invested and interested.
Highly recommended.
May 3, 2018
"Dr James Barry: A woman ahead of her time" is the astonishing true story of Margaret Anne Bulkley - a woman who, for most of her life, pretended to be a man and worked as an army surgeon. That she managed to "get away" with her disguise for so long would have been an impressive feat by itself but she also did this while working her ways through the ranks to become one of the highest ranked medical officers in the British army.
The tragic part is that she was probably extremely lonely - she daren't get too close to anyone for fear of them discovering her secret. Plus, she doesn't come across as the easiest of people; her temper frequently being the cause of many falling outs and career set backs.
Perhaps, Barry could be seen as a transgendered man but that's impossible to know. Had Margaret had the same opportunities to be a doctor as "James" had, then you could ascribe "his" decision to live as a man as an indication that "he" saw "himself" as a man. But, her choices as "Margret" were to be a governess or get married - so deciding to be "James" could well have been she simply wanted a better life for herself. Particularly as there were indications she missed being able to live as a woman.
The tragic part is that she was probably extremely lonely - she daren't get too close to anyone for fear of them discovering her secret. Plus, she doesn't come across as the easiest of people; her temper frequently being the cause of many falling outs and career set backs.
Perhaps, Barry could be seen as a transgendered man but that's impossible to know. Had Margaret had the same opportunities to be a doctor as "James" had, then you could ascribe "his" decision to live as a man as an indication that "he" saw "himself" as a man. But, her choices as "Margret" were to be a governess or get married - so deciding to be "James" could well have been she simply wanted a better life for herself. Particularly as there were indications she missed being able to live as a woman.
January 6, 2018
A fascinating story- although how could it not be. A young woman escaping the sudden impoverishment of her family after her father is sent to debtors’ prison overcomes her previous lack of education to disguise herself as a man so that she can study medicine. The fact that she then manages to maintain her new identity as Dr James Barry for the rest of her life is remarkable. But, even if James Barry had been a real man, her career as an army surgeon across the British colonies would have still made a great story.
The two writers complement each other well - one being the medical historian, the other a novelist. As a result, the book is very well researched (and full of the gruesomeness of early surgical techniques) while also having the pace and drama of fiction.
The two writers complement each other well - one being the medical historian, the other a novelist. As a result, the book is very well researched (and full of the gruesomeness of early surgical techniques) while also having the pace and drama of fiction.
January 23, 2018
This is not a biography of someone with gender identity issues. Rather it is a story of an 19th century woman choosing an unorthodox path in life. Mind you, it wasn't entirely by choice that Margaret Anne Bulkley became an army surgeon and went on to make huge contributions in surgical practices, community health programs and eventually becoming Inspector General of Hospitals. As a poor Irish girl in London, she was unable to find the usual governess work that women her age and class aspired to. Through a set of interesting circumstances, Margaret assumes her famous, now dead, uncle's name and finds herself studying medicine in Edinburgh. At first the gender switch was only to last until her studies were finished, but again unexpected circumstances intervened, and she found herself trapped in her new role. With passion and determination, she chose to go with what life had offered her and carved out an amazing career. She had many personal struggles trying to keep her true identity a secret, and ended up with a reputation for eccentricity. But she got away with it because of her obvious gift for medicine and healing. A fascinating read.
August 21, 2021
The subject of this biography deserves a better author. Margaret Bulkley/James Barry lived a fascinating life in early 19th century British empire. The author could not bring the story to life. I am not quite halfway through.
October 3, 2025
A fascinating story - that of a young Irishwoman who successfully passed herself off as a man, qualified as a doctor and surgeon in the early 1800s, and had a distinguished career in the military - serving in many postings throughout The Commonwealth. Very thoroughly researched and detailed, this proved to be an unusual and intriguing read. I was particularly interested in the context provided regarding the 19th Century changes in society throughout the British Empire, the challenges that Barry faced, the times in which she/he lived.
Alas at times in the second half, it did feel a little long-winded and chewy, the second half had parts in which the established doctor seemed to be doing the same sort of stuff in various postings (irascible doctor puts people's noses out of joint, makes some improvements in public health with VD-riddled soldiers and locals with diarrhoea, upsets people and gets a new role elsewhere) felt a little repetitive, but this isn't to discredit the subject or the author of this biography - it's just the nature of real life. The first half of the book whilst Barry was establishing 'himself' I found more interesting.
I found thought-provoking the numerous instances where Barry seriously tested the boundaries of appropriate behaviour. One could hypothesise that such strength of character was unsurprising for a woman in what was a male-only field (and much of the causes for which Barry fought were admirable), but I also found myself wondering whether a more cautious stance for fear of discovery might be more prudent in those circumstances. Not to be crude, but acting like a prick (as often Barry could be accused of) is obnoxious whether or not you have one.
Alas at times in the second half, it did feel a little long-winded and chewy, the second half had parts in which the established doctor seemed to be doing the same sort of stuff in various postings (irascible doctor puts people's noses out of joint, makes some improvements in public health with VD-riddled soldiers and locals with diarrhoea, upsets people and gets a new role elsewhere) felt a little repetitive, but this isn't to discredit the subject or the author of this biography - it's just the nature of real life. The first half of the book whilst Barry was establishing 'himself' I found more interesting.
I found thought-provoking the numerous instances where Barry seriously tested the boundaries of appropriate behaviour. One could hypothesise that such strength of character was unsurprising for a woman in what was a male-only field (and much of the causes for which Barry fought were admirable), but I also found myself wondering whether a more cautious stance for fear of discovery might be more prudent in those circumstances. Not to be crude, but acting like a prick (as often Barry could be accused of) is obnoxious whether or not you have one.
June 7, 2021
*3,5
Ik wou eigenlijk 4 sterren geven maar het stoort me mateloos dat niet eens de optie aangehaald wordt dat Dr. James Barry misschien trans was. Desondanks toch 3,5 sterren.
"It is impossible to know how Dr. Barry would identify today but they are part of [LGBTQ+] history regardless."
Ik wou eigenlijk 4 sterren geven maar het stoort me mateloos dat niet eens de optie aangehaald wordt dat Dr. James Barry misschien trans was. Desondanks toch 3,5 sterren.
"It is impossible to know how Dr. Barry would identify today but they are part of [LGBTQ+] history regardless."
August 7, 2017
A quite incredible story; living a lie (and the fact that she had to looks, to us today, absurd) for a lifetime, reaching the very pinnacle of her profession....and yet - and how poignant - vestiges of her femininity were preserved, hidden away.
The book is beautifully written, but for a couple of tedious chapters in the final third which gave little insight into James's life and the far going places he lived in. This part of the book felt somewhat rushed. That aside, there's a vast amount of fascinating medical and historical detail to be gleaned and I really found myself warming to the cantankerous, flawed James/Margaret.
The book is beautifully written, but for a couple of tedious chapters in the final third which gave little insight into James's life and the far going places he lived in. This part of the book felt somewhat rushed. That aside, there's a vast amount of fascinating medical and historical detail to be gleaned and I really found myself warming to the cantankerous, flawed James/Margaret.
November 8, 2018
No one told me I could catch feelings from a non-fiction book! I am dead inside and I cried dammit. How dare!
In all honesty, I was worried about this book. Purely because it was a subject I knew nothing about and, as I definitely need practice taking in chunks of factual information in a short space of time, I was anxious that I'd struggle to keep my head in the right lane. However, the authors set the scene so well that it was like a fiction book in its imagery and setting. At no time was I just expected to miraculously have knowledge of the era or medicine or social customs. At no point was I left stranded in amongst facts that made no sense.
Neither was I bombarded with guesswork and imaginings masquerading as truth; when the authors didn't know they said so. They might have speculated as to what the missing information was but not once was it dressed in anything other than the fancy it would always be.
If I stumbled over anything it was the strange wording of the given quotes however this is just the peculiarity of the language at the time and nothing the authors did.
In conclusion; I loved it, you will too, read it and cry with me!
In all honesty, I was worried about this book. Purely because it was a subject I knew nothing about and, as I definitely need practice taking in chunks of factual information in a short space of time, I was anxious that I'd struggle to keep my head in the right lane. However, the authors set the scene so well that it was like a fiction book in its imagery and setting. At no time was I just expected to miraculously have knowledge of the era or medicine or social customs. At no point was I left stranded in amongst facts that made no sense.
Neither was I bombarded with guesswork and imaginings masquerading as truth; when the authors didn't know they said so. They might have speculated as to what the missing information was but not once was it dressed in anything other than the fancy it would always be.
If I stumbled over anything it was the strange wording of the given quotes however this is just the peculiarity of the language at the time and nothing the authors did.
In conclusion; I loved it, you will too, read it and cry with me!
March 21, 2021
A fascinating story. Reading it was marred by the plethora of footnotes necessitating continual referreal to the back of the book. These would have been far better on each individual page.
July 21, 2022
Good interesting book and story, demonstrates how difficult it was for clever ambitious women to even be able to have a profession only a short couple of centuries ago. I admired her spirit and determination and the constant tackling and overcoming of difficulties and re-organisation of under par medical facilities in far flung corners of the Commonwealth with the usual resistance from less talented persons in authority. Well worth the time to consider the history and the ability to garner support from those of influence who were sympathetic to her goals. Sad that she did not have the opportunities we now enjoy.
Easy to read and fascinating tale especially of the successful caesarian and praise for a good bedside manner and healthy, clean hospitals.
Easy to read and fascinating tale especially of the successful caesarian and praise for a good bedside manner and healthy, clean hospitals.
August 28, 2017
An amazing account of how a woman disguised herself has a man to live her dream of serving has a doctor in the army during the nineteenth century. So much research has gone into this book that it deserves good praise. We have come so far in achieving equality but so much more needs to be achieved throughout the world. Well written and some interesting material regarding slavery and reforms in medicine.
January 4, 2018
Very interesting book and to begin with I couldn't put it down. About 2/3rds in though it became a bit slow and required wading through. Nothing to do with the writing but Dr Barry himself! I will say no more for fear of giving spoilers. However overall this seems a well researched piece and highly informative hence my 4 stars.
July 12, 2018
I LOVED this book and quite simply didn't want it to end. Marvellous description throughout and very well researched
August 9, 2019
Utterly fascinating, a remarkable woman, and an enthralling life ... there should be a plaque to her somewhere in Cork !
July 6, 2020
Apart from the transphobic title a really good book
Read
January 14, 2020Really enjoyed this biography of a young nineteenth century Irish lass, Margaret Ann Bulkley, who adopted a male identity, James Barry, and became an innovative surgeon in the British colonial army. I can't help thinking that from these two surnames the excellent name Barry Bulkley might have been created. It's probably not the most important thing to draw from the book, but definitely top three.
Barry also had quite a few colourful personality eccentricities, but what made the story especially fascinating for me is that it seems many people were unconvinced James Barry was a man. Yet he seemed able to continue his career because of some combination of being "buggered" by a lord, duelling a person of equal rank who openly questioned his gender identity, ruining the career of a lower ranked person who tried the same, and generally being a very competent, innovative surgeon.
One other fascinating spoiler: Barry left strict instructions about how his corpse was to be handled after his death, in ways that clearly indicate he did not want his physical sex revealed, yet when Barry's trunk was opened after his death it was found to be lined with pictures of dresses and the like clipped from women's magazines - which suggests (to my simple uniformed mind) that Barry might have remained a little Bulkley until the very end.
If you like your biographies "scholarly" rather than "popular" then I would suggest skipping this one—and seeking psychiatric help instead. Me, I liked all the scene setting and storytelling elements, though they must have involved far more artistic licence than documented evidence. Whatever type of biography you prefer, I would definitely recommend reading more biographies about trans people.
Barry also had quite a few colourful personality eccentricities, but what made the story especially fascinating for me is that it seems many people were unconvinced James Barry was a man. Yet he seemed able to continue his career because of some combination of being "buggered" by a lord, duelling a person of equal rank who openly questioned his gender identity, ruining the career of a lower ranked person who tried the same, and generally being a very competent, innovative surgeon.
One other fascinating spoiler: Barry left strict instructions about how his corpse was to be handled after his death, in ways that clearly indicate he did not want his physical sex revealed, yet when Barry's trunk was opened after his death it was found to be lined with pictures of dresses and the like clipped from women's magazines - which suggests (to my simple uniformed mind) that Barry might have remained a little Bulkley until the very end.
If you like your biographies "scholarly" rather than "popular" then I would suggest skipping this one—and seeking psychiatric help instead. Me, I liked all the scene setting and storytelling elements, though they must have involved far more artistic licence than documented evidence. Whatever type of biography you prefer, I would definitely recommend reading more biographies about trans people.
October 28, 2022
Very interesting story of an amazing woman. The use of 'he' pronouns made sense to an extent - because she lived as the persona of James and was (mostly) perceived as male for so long - but I thought it was overused. James was a creation, a presentation; he didn't actually exist, he wasn't making decisions or experiencing anything.
And I had to skip a couple of the more detailed descriptions of operations, but that's just me.
Overall, a really interesting piece of history.
And I had to skip a couple of the more detailed descriptions of operations, but that's just me.
Overall, a really interesting piece of history.
September 12, 2019
Fascinating
September 18, 2016
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
Born Margaret Anne Bulkley in 1797 and dying as Dr. James Barry in 1865, this is the biography of a woman who pretended to be a man. Largely overlooked in the history of the British army and the emancipation of women, Dr. James Barry was the first woman to be trained in medicine and practice as a surgeon within the military; however no one knew her/his true identity. After a decade of research Michael du Preez and Jeremy Dronfield have pieced together the life and service of this eccentric historical figure in this wonderfully informative book: Dr James Barry: A Woman Ahead of Her Time.
The authors recount the events of Dr. Barry’s life in a chronological order beginning with a fourteen-year-old Margaret in the Irish county of Cork. Life was not kind to women in Georgian society, especially those in lower classes such as Margaret and her mother. Failing to get a position as a governess, Margaret is encouraged to pretend to be a man in order to get a degree and become a doctor. Originally this may have been to prove that women are just as capable as men, however circumstances caused Margaret to continue in the guise of Dr. James Barry for the remainder of her life. Du Preez and Dronfield take the reader on a journey through Africa, Jamaica, Malta, the West Indies and other various places Barry found himself, revealing that not only was he a woman in disguise, he was frankly better than many of the other surgeons.
Throughout the narrative the pronouns of the titular character changes depending on whether he/she is Margaret or James at that particular time. This may sound confusing, however it was fairly easy to follow. What was unclear to begin with was the style of writing. One minute it would be written like a novel, and then suddenly it took on a textbook format. I realised eventually that each chapter began written as a story, before turning into detailed facts. It did not seem necessary to have these contrasting styles; one or the other would have sufficed.
Unlike other biographers who may make things up to fill gaps in a story, du Preez and Dronfield have written a truthful account, backed up by reliable sources. The extent of their research is evident from the numerous pages of footnotes and bibliography at the back of the book. They have resourced letters and papers written by Dr. Barry and his peers from which they have deduced an enormous amount of information. Some of the findings are pictured on an insert in the middle pages of the manuscript. These include a miniature portrait of Dr. James Barry as well as images of other notable acquaintances.
Whilst it is interesting to discover the lengths Margaret went to prevent being found out – the hostile behaviour, for example, which Florence Nightingale was unfortunate to witness – large chunks of the chapters were about the people Dr. James Barry was acquainted with, rather than solely about himself. With limited insight into Barry’s life, it is clear why the authors thought it was necessary to do this – to pad out the overall story – however it made some chapters rather boring and an effort to persevere with.
I had never heard of Margaret Bulkley, nor Dr. James Barry, prior to reading this book. I think she is a woman that out to be taught about, or at least mentioned, in school history lessons. Not only was she the first woman to achieve such a high position within the army, she improved the methods used in hospital, particularly in relation to hygiene, which greatly benefitted the future of surgery and medicine. Michael du Preez and Jeremy Dronfield ought to be proud of the outcome of their years of research; never before have I come across such a heavily evidenced biography. On the other hand, it is not quite suitable to be read in one go. There is so much detail that the brain needs to be fully awake to completely appreciate. But to sum up: it is a very good book.
Born Margaret Anne Bulkley in 1797 and dying as Dr. James Barry in 1865, this is the biography of a woman who pretended to be a man. Largely overlooked in the history of the British army and the emancipation of women, Dr. James Barry was the first woman to be trained in medicine and practice as a surgeon within the military; however no one knew her/his true identity. After a decade of research Michael du Preez and Jeremy Dronfield have pieced together the life and service of this eccentric historical figure in this wonderfully informative book: Dr James Barry: A Woman Ahead of Her Time.
The authors recount the events of Dr. Barry’s life in a chronological order beginning with a fourteen-year-old Margaret in the Irish county of Cork. Life was not kind to women in Georgian society, especially those in lower classes such as Margaret and her mother. Failing to get a position as a governess, Margaret is encouraged to pretend to be a man in order to get a degree and become a doctor. Originally this may have been to prove that women are just as capable as men, however circumstances caused Margaret to continue in the guise of Dr. James Barry for the remainder of her life. Du Preez and Dronfield take the reader on a journey through Africa, Jamaica, Malta, the West Indies and other various places Barry found himself, revealing that not only was he a woman in disguise, he was frankly better than many of the other surgeons.
Throughout the narrative the pronouns of the titular character changes depending on whether he/she is Margaret or James at that particular time. This may sound confusing, however it was fairly easy to follow. What was unclear to begin with was the style of writing. One minute it would be written like a novel, and then suddenly it took on a textbook format. I realised eventually that each chapter began written as a story, before turning into detailed facts. It did not seem necessary to have these contrasting styles; one or the other would have sufficed.
Unlike other biographers who may make things up to fill gaps in a story, du Preez and Dronfield have written a truthful account, backed up by reliable sources. The extent of their research is evident from the numerous pages of footnotes and bibliography at the back of the book. They have resourced letters and papers written by Dr. Barry and his peers from which they have deduced an enormous amount of information. Some of the findings are pictured on an insert in the middle pages of the manuscript. These include a miniature portrait of Dr. James Barry as well as images of other notable acquaintances.
Whilst it is interesting to discover the lengths Margaret went to prevent being found out – the hostile behaviour, for example, which Florence Nightingale was unfortunate to witness – large chunks of the chapters were about the people Dr. James Barry was acquainted with, rather than solely about himself. With limited insight into Barry’s life, it is clear why the authors thought it was necessary to do this – to pad out the overall story – however it made some chapters rather boring and an effort to persevere with.
I had never heard of Margaret Bulkley, nor Dr. James Barry, prior to reading this book. I think she is a woman that out to be taught about, or at least mentioned, in school history lessons. Not only was she the first woman to achieve such a high position within the army, she improved the methods used in hospital, particularly in relation to hygiene, which greatly benefitted the future of surgery and medicine. Michael du Preez and Jeremy Dronfield ought to be proud of the outcome of their years of research; never before have I come across such a heavily evidenced biography. On the other hand, it is not quite suitable to be read in one go. There is so much detail that the brain needs to be fully awake to completely appreciate. But to sum up: it is a very good book.
March 5, 2021
The 5 stars are as much for Dr Barry as for the actual book. It is very hard to imagine how difficult life and ambition were for girls in earlier centuries. To dare to dream to become a doctor was unheard of, and anyway, against the rules. But against all odds, Margaret Ann Bulkley trained and practised as a male doctor in the 19th century. He/she managed an unheard of deception, for 50 years, working in different parts of the world as an army doctor and performing one of the first successful caesarean operations in Cape Town in which both mother and baby survived. Not always a likeable character, but then Dr Barry had a huge deception to maintain. This book was quite detailed but not hard to follow. A remarkable life story.
February 3, 2018
Une histoire assez incroyable. Une biographie racontée presque comme une fiction (y a pas mal d'hypothèses dans le bouquin, mais ça se sent). Un personnage vachement intéressant en tout cas, et entouré de mystères. Y a de la recherche derrière avec des lettres authentiques bien sûr. C'est la première que je lis une sorte de biographie donc ça me fait tout bizarre. Dans le sens où quand on lit des mémoires/autobio, ben c'est la personne/sujet qui en est l'auteur donc c'est pas dérangeant et on comprend bien la personnalité derrière la plume. Mais là, c'est assez impersonnel même si on sent de l'admiration et du respect pour Barry.
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