For his whole life Bill ‘Girly’ Smith managed to keep the secret that he was a woman and not a man from everybody. Quite the accomplishment, considering for most of his adult life he was a jockey.
At the age of 76, while bending down to take his shoes off, he knocks his head on the corner of the nightstand and ends up in hospital. Much to his chagrin; his age, condition, and frailty, force him to be admitted. He finally gives in to the nurses, no longer able to keep his secret when forced to remove his old clothes for a hospital gown.
However, the hospital staff keep his secret, and one nurse, who at first thought he was a cantankerous old ‘man’, takes a bit of a shine to Smith. Unfortunately, Smith is quite ill, and growing frailer by the day. Nurse Bannon wants to find some family or relatives before it is too late. This proves more difficult than she thought. There seems to be only one person Smith wants to see. Catherine is the only human being who Smith has ever loved.
The narrative is broken into four parts, covering different times and locations throughout Smith’s life. My favourite parts being when Smith was a child. We find out where his love of horses comes from. Why he prefers their company to people and why he was forced to conceal that he was born a female. And we meet Catherine.
Smith’s life was not an easy one. He lived through two World Wars, the Spanish Flu, and the Depression. He spent three decades as a Jockey. Terrible injury, even death, a possibility with every race.
Based on a true story, Mr Smith to You makes for a thoroughly enjoyable read.
Reviewed by Neale Lucas
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