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In an England devastated by the terrible losses of World War I, Colonel Victor Barker was a rare man indeed. Dashing, well-respected, with impeccable manners, he was a model gentleman. His wife was proud of his good breeding and fine looks, and his young son worshipped him as a war hero. But beneath the army uniform Barker hid an astounding secret. In 1929, following a sensational trial, the good colonel was sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment. For Colonel Barker was, in fact, a woman. Her real name was Valerie Lilias Arkell-Smith, the most infamous “man-woman” of them all. Among Rose Collis’ books are A Trouser-Wearing Character, K.D. Lang, and The Mammoth Book of Lesbian Erotica.