by Geneviève Falconer and the Silver Vixen
Enter Amelia Bingham is not an intemorphic book, but it came out of the same milieu as the earliest intemorphic books and hints at an all-girl society along quasi-intemorphic (two feminine sexes) lines, especially in the “Scottish” adventures that take up much of the latter part of the book.
It is being republished by the Sun Daughter Press as a piece of early proto-intemorphic history – and also because it is a very fine, witty and elegant book in its own right.
Enter Amelia Bingham is set in Britain (primarily London and the highlands of Scotland) in the 1980s. About half the book first appeared as a series of stories in the 1980s lesbian magazine Artemis, which also published the first true intemorphic stories such as Strangers in Paradise.
The book revolves around the exploits of the eponymous Amelia Bingham, an elegant confidence trickster who confines her craft to people she deems deserving of being fleeced for their contribution to the general ugliness and coarseness of contemporary society.
Following an old British tradition, her adventures are narrated by her charming but naive companion Hypatia “Pash” Chevender. As the stories unfold we soon learn that Amelia is by no means alone in her style and attitudes. We meet several of the the inhabitants of an exclusive residential Ladies’ Club in London, many of whom make their livings in ways as unusual as Miss Bingham’s.
Later we are introduced to a remote Scottish mansion which is home to a feminine household where all-girl balls and crinoline parties make the centerpiece of an elegant style of life that is supported by a well-organized smuggling operation. At no point does Miss Bingham give her attention to smuggling itself, but when the household is threatened by an ill-intentioned outsider, she does turn her hand to a little detective work before ending her time in Scotland with a monumental and highly lucrative coup against a government department.
The very special sense of feminine community makes Enter Amelia Bingham a clear forerunner of such quasi-intemorphic books as Children of the Void, while its elegance and tightly-plotted, gem-like adventures make it a delightful book for anyone.
Enter Amelia Bingham is $14.95 including shipping to anywhere in the world.