

And the figure at its heart, Jack Sheppard, is, in Rosenberg’s fictional world, a trans man.Rosenberg, who is trans himself, recalled that most publishers were far more eager to publish a possible memoir about his experience as a trans man than a speculative historical novel featuring a trans character. Confessions of the Fox is a historical novel, but it’s also speculative fiction, metafiction and a political argument. An immediate folk hero, he was immortalized in theatrical works by John Gay and, later, Bertolt Brecht. But in that short span, his madcap spate of robberies and subsequent daring escapes from prison enthralled the working-class population of London. Jack Sheppard, a legendary 18th century pickpocket and jailbreaker, operated for only about a year before being hanged for his crimes.
