Breckinridge Myra

Gore Vidal's classic controversial novel. With no advance publicity, the highly satirical story of a man-hating transsexual quickly became a sensational bestseller. Those who understood it were amused; those who didn't were shocked. No one remains untouched by the luscious Myra Breckinridge's quest for Hollywood fame. Her job teaching Empathy and Posture at the Academy of Drama and Modeling gives her the perfect opportunity to vamp, scheme, and seduce her way into the undiscovered lives and passions of others - while trying to keep a few secrets of her own. In the sequel, Myron, the Breckinridge saga takes an increasingly bizarre turn. Myron seems to be an inconspicuous man with a sweet wife and a Chinese catering business, and Myra - still determined to become a megastar - wages an outrageous battle for hormonal supremacy over the body she shares with Myron. Gore Vidal leads us through the movie-star world of the fabulous forties as Myra attempts to alter cinema history. Determined to reinvent himself and explore new territory in his work, Gore Vidal published a provocative satirical work destined to be on a collision course with social conventions in 1968. Written as a diary, Myra Breckinridge, someone determined not to be possessed by any man, recounts her day as she lives it out in the Hollywood of the '60s. Feminism, transsexuality, and a host of cinematic jokes abound.