A review by bookishjesse
Irrepressible: The Jazz Age Life of Henrietta Bingham by Emily Bingham

4.0

I really enjoyed this biography of Henrietta Bingham. It is well-written as narrative non-fiction. My only two complaints are around missing details. The first was that there was no discussion of birth control despite Henrietta's "conquests." I was left wondering how she prevented pregnancy when she was with men? My second issue with the book was the few occassions when readers are told a family member felt a certain way when no citation for that claim appears in the notes. Because the rest of the notes cite accessible and documented sources, I kept reading despite my questions. Those complaints aside, I was delighted to read a compassionate and complex biography of someone who struggled with and against her sexuality: struggles made more difficult by the harmful interventions of early psychoanalysts. I also respect Emily Bingham's willingness to focus on Henrietta even when this involved portraying the author's own family members in a negative light. I love the paragraph at the end about this book being like another of Henrietta's lovers and "pursuing her and being pushed away" (292). Henrietta is a compelling and flawed character and I am sure her story will stay with me.