In Men’s Clothing

Catharina Linck was the last woman in Europe to be executed for lesbian sexual activity. Raised in an orphanage in Halle, she began dressing in men’s clothes at the age of fifteen, called herself Anastasius Rosenstengel and »caressed« numerous »beautiful female persons« with a »stuffed male member made of leather«. After a chequered life of travelling as the prophet of a Pietist sect, she fought as a musketeer in the War of the Spanish Succession, deserted and worked as a craftsman before marrying another woman in Halberstadt in 1717. Exposed and betrayed by her suspicious mother-in-law, Catharina Linck was subjected to an inquisitorial trial and Prussian King Frederick William I personally sentenced her to death.

Knowledgeable and with of empathy, Angela Steidele tells the astonishing life story of a fearless woman from a background of poverty who, with wit and a thirst for adventure, broke through all the boundaries set for her by her gender and status. Supplemented by the – from a contemporary point of view – bizarre court records, In Men’s Clothing changes our view of the early modern period and resembles a picaresque novel full of tragic comedy.

»Steidele’s biography is impeccably researched [...] it is a veritable page-turner.« Susanne Kord, The Modern Language Review

»Angela Steidele has turned the files of this case into an interesting book, a case study not only of ›women in men’s clothes‹, but about transvestism, transsexuality and female homosexuality. [...] What immediately wins the reader over to this book is the author’s empathy for the fate of her heroine which is reconstructed with meticulousness and care.« Wolfgang Behringer, Süddeutsche Zeitung

»Angela Steidele has competently and lovingly compiled the material and used it to tell a historically verifiable as well as adventurous tale of a bygone era.« Ursula Pia Rauch, Neue Zürcher Zeitung

»Angela Steidele has written a book that is an important, worthwhile read.« Michaela Fenske, H-Soz-Kult

»Far more vivid than many a history book conveys, and more exciting, moving and compassionate than many a film.« L-Mag

»This book is a true stroke of luck. Rarely does the life, love and suffering of a member of the lower classes in the early modern period become so tangible as in the case of Catharina Margaretha Linck.« Historische Anthropologie

»The daring life of Catharina Margaretha Linck holds more suspense and, despite the tragic ending, entertainment than many thrillers. [...] On the level of content, the adventurousness and ingenuity of a woman who shrewdly and deftly evaded the narrow role of woman is astonishing. Formally, the variety and multiplicity of sources that the author weaves with unexpected narrative skill into an easy-to-read story without slipping into fabrication is amazing.« Monika Schmitt, quer/elles

»Not only meticulously researched, but also brilliantly formulated with clear objectivity, Angela Steidele delivers an exemplary contribution to the hitherto hardly processed early history of lesbian love in Germany with this book. One would like to see many more works of this quality.« Lizzie Pricken, Gigi

»Steidele might just be a German equivalent to Jeanette Winterson.« Katy Derbyshire, New Books in German on Gentleman Jack: A biography of Anne Lister, Regency Landowner, Seducer and Secret Diarist

»A remarkable book about a fascinating woman.« The Times on Gentleman Jack

»A triumph of truth over phantasy« The Guardian on Gentleman Jack