The Man Who Was Not

By Jane Hoppen

In 1843, Stephen Hyde appears before the select board of Salisbury, Connecticut, to claim his voting rights. Stephen is effeminate though, and when he approaches the board, other members challenge his maleness. To end the dispute, the board leader summons the town doctor, Dr. Martin Smythe, to examine Stephen. The doctor informs the board that Stephen Hyde is, indeed, a man, and Stephen wins the right to vote. But Stephen has a secret, and three weeks later, he is suffering from increasingly severe menstrual symptoms. The only way he can get pain medication is to visit Dr. Smythe and reveal his true biology. With the truth in the open, Stephen and Martin bond as friends, eventually becoming intimate. Six months into their relationship, both are surprised beyond belief when Stephen becomes pregnant. The two men must then formulate some way to create and keep a family.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
• Release date: Jun 18, 2014
• ISBN: 9781626391727

Jane Hoppen

Jane Hoppen grew up in Wisconsin, served in the U.S. Army, and has been settled in the New York City area for more than two decades. While working as a technical writer for the government and the software industry for more than twenty years, Jane has always done fiction and essay writing on the side and has been published in various magazines, including Room of One’s Own, Off Our Backs, Story Quarterly, The Dirty Goat, Western Humanities Review, Gertrude, PANK, Superstition Review, Thrice Fiction, Helix Magazine, Platte Valley Review, and others. She now focuses primarily on her fiction, and In Between is her first novel to be published.

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The Man Who Was Not

By Jane Hoppen

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Copyright 2014 Jane Hoppen

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Table of Contents

Synopsis

By the Author

The Man Who Was Not

About the Author

Books Available From Bold Strokes Books

Synopsis

In 1843, Stephen Hyde appears before the select board of Salisbury, Connecticut, to claim his voting rights. Stephen is effeminate though, and when he approaches the board, other members challenge his maleness. To end the dispute, the board leader summons the town doctor, Dr. Martin Smythe, to examine Stephen. The doctor informs the board that Stephen Hyde is, indeed, a man, and Stephen wins the right to vote. But Stephen has a secret, and three weeks later, he is suffering from increasingly severe menstrual symptoms. The only way he can get pain medication is to visit Dr. Smythe and reveal his true biology. With the truth in the open, Stephen and Martin bond as friends, eventually becoming intimate. Six months into their relationship, both are surprised beyond belief when Stephen becomes pregnant. The two men must then formulate some way to create and keep a family.

The Man Who Was Not

© 2014 By Jane Hoppen. All Rights Reserved.

ISBN 13: 978-1-62639-172-7

This Electronic Book is published by

Bold Strokes Books, Inc.

P.O. Box 249

Valley Falls, New York 12185

First Edition: June 2014

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.

Credits

Editor: Cindy Cresap

Production Design: Bold Strokes Graphics

Cover Design Lee Ligon

By the Author

In Between

The Man Who Was Not

The Man Who Was Not

The day Stephen Hyde walked into the town courthouse in Salisbury, Connecticut, in 1843, to ask for permission to vote in a local election, he entered with flair and purpose—a black felt derby cocked on his head, a lavender floppy bowtie that no other man would have donned circling his neck, and a frock coat waving behind him. The selectmen turned their gazes on him. Some chortled and snickered, and a rumble of discordant chatter filled the room.

Stephen didn’t care. Since he was a teenager, he had been taunted by other boys in school and about town for his more feminine characteristics—narrow shoulders, broad hips, and a stride that incorporated a bit of a skip and swish. As he made his way to an empty seat in the front of the hall, he lightly tapped his walking stick on the floor with each step, as if keeping time to some silent tune in his head. After he sat, he pulled his coat sleeves into perfect position and checked his lapel for any lint or dust, which he quickly flicked off.

What is he doing here? Charles Bailey, a portly man and prominent hotel owner, immediately stood to ask the board leader, Samuel Whiting.

I’m here to demand a vote in the coming election for the new board leader, Stephen loudly stated, remaining seated. I am a Whig, and I’ve just turned twenty-one.

Stephen yearned to vote, to make a stand. Men from both parties crouched into little groups, the buzz of discussions and arguments filling the room with a humming drone.

He does have a right to vote, Samuel Whiting finally addressed the board. He is, indeed, a man. We have no right to prevent him from voting now that he’s of age.

Whiting was one of the oldest men present, his long figure somewhat stooped, his skin absorbing the gray pallor of aging.

Some of us may beg to differ, Charles Bailey said, standing again and waving his walking stick in the air and then toward Stephen.

Stephen reciprocated, smiling and waving his own cane back at Bailey. The man had always tried to intimidate Stephen, making snide remarks when Stephen passed him on the streets, referring to him as Madame or Miss, imitating Stephen’s lively swish.

Hmm, Stephen thought, some men never do grow up. Stephen knew the townspeople suspected he was less than manly, a dandy, and he did have a liking for men, but he also knew his case was a complicated one that no one would contemplate or understand. Even he didn’t understand.

Mr. Hyde does, after all, appear to have attributes that are more female than male, Charles Bailey continued, addressing his fellow Democrats, pulling at his moustache with fat, sausage fingers. Who here can honestly say they disagree with that?

The room of men broke into uproarious laughter, as Stephen remained sitting, refusing to move or be moved.

Mr. Bailey is correct, said Patrick Morris, the town banker and another vehement Democrat, also rising to join the debate. "Mrs. Morris has told me that numerous times she has seen Mr. Hyde in her shop comparing pieces of fabric, setting them side