Bartlett first encountered Stella in 1983, when he was writing a queer history book; now he’s returned to her story, acknowledging that at 56 – the same age Stella was at her death – he’s less entranced by the high jinks of a beautiful young “flaming queen”, but more in awe of a whole lifetime of courage. This is the tale of an individual who continued to question her identity, asking “who am I?” right up until her death.

Shape shifter

It also seems like a timely moment for Stella to step back into the limelight. In recent years, there’s been a massive increase in the visibility of transgender or gender-fluid individuals, from Caitlyn Jenner, Andreja Pejić and Anohni’s public transitions to TV programmes and films, such as Orange is the New Black, The Danish Girl and Transparent, that tell previously ignored stories.

“Because of the extraordinary work that trans and non-binary people are doing at the moment to make us more aware that gender identity categories are often imprecise and useless, that there are as many genders as there are people, I think we can see stories like Stella’s in a new light,’” suggests Bartlett. “For Stella, identity was never a destination – it was a journey, a constant transformation. And that’s an idea we’re now very open to.”