How an Englishman lived as a woman in a Swiss cave

The sun rises behind a chapel early morning in Ritzingen near Goms, Switzerland. Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

It sounds like Hollywood script. Almost 100 years ago, an English intellectual settled in a remote Swiss mountain village - and transformed himself into a woman.

Nature reigns supreme in the Blinnental valley in the Swiss canton of Valais. Larch and fir trees cling to the steep, rugged slopes on either side, while a mountain stream rushes below. Between the slopes and river lie small and large rocks that bear witness to countless rockslides.

It was in this wild valley in the Goms district that the English intellectual Vincent Donovan settled almost 100 years ago.

A wealthy Englishman

When Donovan arrived in Reckingen in 1929, two worlds collided, says Ilse Carlen, who has been studying his story intensively for years.

On one hand, there were the simple, strictly Catholic mountain folk, and on the other a highly-educated, cultured, well-to-do Englishman. “With his behaviour, his manners and his bowler hat, he stood out in the village,” says Carlen.

Donovan was drawn to nature. His new home was a cave under a boulder in the Blinnental valley, a good hour’s walk from the village.

“This aroused the curiosity of the population,” says Carlen. The locals visited the ‘English gentleman’, especially on Sundays. It was a welcome change from the tough everyday life of the mountain farmers.

Mr Donovan becomes Miss Kraig

Donovan’s popularity was partly due to his generosity. He would offer his visitors cigarettes, tea, white bread and jam. “White bread was a luxury that the population could not afford,” says Carlen.

Vincent Donovan, aka Franca Kraig, in front of the cave home. This image can be found in many old family albums in Reckingen. ZVG

Donovan also impressed the villagers with his knowledge and English humour. “He won over the villagers and made friends with them,” says Carlen. She is convinced that this was the only way they accepted what happened next.

Vincent Donovan gradually transformed himself into a woman: Miss Franca Kraig. “His hair grew longer, his shirt became a blouse, his trousers became a skirt, and so on,” says Carlen.

Miss Kraig causes a stir

The population accepted the change of identity. “The fact that this was possible in a mountain village at that time never ceases to amaze me,” says Carlen.

A man living as a woman in a cave – the story made waves. In 1932, a local newspaper in Valais wrote about a mysterious, eccentric, man-woman who led a peculiar hermit’s life:

“A visit to Miss Kraig revealed the following interesting details: the hospitable Miss was clean-shaven – a veritable bobbed haircut adorned with hair combs. Her clothing, right down to her silk stockings, was impeccable,” it wrote.

Franca Kraig always avoided attention, according to Carlen. “Although the family in London had accepted and supported their son’s transformation, the English public was not allowed to know about it. That would have ruined the family socially,” she says.

An article published in a Zurich weekly magazine in 1935 attests to Kraig’s caution. It refers to her as a “shy eccentric”. Although the locals advised against it, the reporter managed to take some pictures of Miss Franca.

It is not known whether Franca Kraig ever found out about the newspaper articles. “Even if the photos were taken in a questionable manner, it is a stroke of luck for us today,” says Carlen.

An eventful life

Percy Vincent Donovan was born in 1882, the son of an Anglican priest and a noblewoman. He first got to know Goms when he was just 16, spending a summer in the Binntal valley with his father.

Donovan studied at the University of Oxford and published his first novel while still a student. He moved to New York without finishing his degree, trying his luck as a writer and bohemian.

In 1929, he returned to Europe at the age of almost 50. He sought a simple life in Valais. Mr Donovan became Miss Franca Kraig and lived in Goms for ten years. Due to the global economic crisis, the flow of money from London dried up and Kraig became impoverished.

Shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War, Kraig was expelled from Switzerland and died in London in 1940 after a German bombing raid.

Adapted from German by DeepL/ac