Babette: The Many Lives, Two Deaths and Double Kidnapping of
Dr. Ellsworth
By Ross Eliot
Genre: Memoir, LGBTQ/ Trans Nonfiction, NW History
This narrative begins in 1998 when, in his early twenties,
Ross Eliot relocates to Portland, Oregon and eventually the basement pantry of
a grand house owned by Dr. Babette Ellsworth, an arcane history professor.
Her past unfolds in stories, from the 1928 kidnapping in
central Washington carried out by a mysterious wealthy French woman, to life in
occupied Europe during World War II with the Czarist assassin of Rasputin a
frequent houseguest. The professor’s later life experiences in America only create
more intrigue, from teenage prostitution to her late-life sex reassignment,
involvement with the Catholic Church and connections to Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh,
whose cult perpetrated a notorious 1984 bio-terror attack in Oregon.
Eliot cares for Dr. Ellsworth until her death in 2002 before
an entire class of students, however, the shroud covering her story has only
partially raised and murkier secrets than ever suspected emerge. Part memoir,
part mystery, part history lesson– this true tale binds drama from classic
Greek tragedy together with revelations worthy of the most bizarre fiction.
From gender and sexuality to religious theory and existential philosophy, it’s
an unorthodox love saga between pupil and mentor, yet also for the city of
Portland where they live.
Oh,
Babette. How easily I was sucked into her intriguing life. Dr. Babette
Ellsworth was a history professor in Portland, Oregon that lived an almost
unbelievable life. In 1928, newborn Ellsworth was kidnapped from Yakima,
Washington and spent her early life in occupied Europe with her French mother.
Author
Ross Eliot met Ellsworth in 1999 when he enrolled in one of her history
classes. The two soon became roommates resulting from Ellsworth’s declining
health. Eliot finds himself as caretaker and confidant. Ross begins to unravel
the story of Babette and her male-to-female transition later in life.
This
memoir touches on Ross’s life in Portland as he spends his days going to
school, traveling with Babette wherever she needs to go, and navigating the
Portland nightlife. The real meat of the story is the daily dance between Ross
and Babette.
I
don’t think I could get enough of Babette and her eccentric ways. She was
fascinating and had a never-ending supply of historical knowledge which took up
much of the book (interesting and enjoyable.) I adored how she controlled her
story and who she allowed in her sacred sanctuary that she called home. As much
as Babette was an open book, she had a plethora of secrets – some that she took
with her when she left this life.
Author Info
Ross Eliot is a writer, roofer, auto mechanic, DJ and
commercial fisherman based in Portland, Oregon and Sitka, Alaska. He is best known as publisher and
editor of the critically acclaimed counterculture gun politics magazine American
Gun Culture Report from 2006-2011 and the current internet journal Occupy the
2nd Amendment.
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1u9mzxZ
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