The Hidden Case of Ewan Forbes

(Bloomsbury, 416 pages, £20)

The personal and the political

Born in 1912 to a wealthy Scottish family, Ewan Forbes was assigned female at birth before transitioning and living as a man. In 1965, though, a cousin contested his inheritance on the basis of gender – leading to a court case shrouded in secrecy. This book tells that remarkable story and explores what it reveals about views of identity and the experiences of transgender people in the 20th century.