Aunt Jim is a play which is loosely based on the life and attitude of my aunt, Edith English. She sprung full grown into my life at about age nine. The complex family drama within which she lived, fought and eventually died, is full of heroes and villains who are equally odd and wonderful, wrong and right.
Aunt Jim is also the story of the law and society. At a time when lesbianism was considered a mental illness, she was forced to endure the probate court challenge of her right to the estate of her long time lover and companion. What brought her there, and how she lived out the rest of her life is sadly too common.