Biography of X

Biography of X follows journalist C. M. Lucca as she wrestles with grief and anger after her wife, the enigmatic artist X, dies. A rival biography hits the shelves, and it’s wrong. Lucca decides to uncover the truth herself—about X’s past, her inventions, and the brutal theocracy of the Southern Territory that shaped her. Piece by piece, we enter X’s world of personas, patronage, and performance, and the messy, tender marriage that tied it together. This story moves like a road at night—one turn at a time, with the windows down and the past riding shotgun. It’s a portrait of a nation split in two and of a woman who refused to be just one person, told by someone who loved her and never stopped looking for her.

• Listeners who enjoy literary fiction told as a true-feeling investigation
• Fans of art-world stories and complex creative lives
• Readers interested in queer history, identity, and the ethics of biography
• Anyone who wants a love story that admits its damage and its grace

Catherine Lacey is the author of several award-winning novels and short story collections. In Biography of X she uses the voice of journalist C. M. Lucca to craft a layered portrait of the artist X—part investigation, part love story, part national history. Lacey’s work has earned a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Whiting Award, and wide recognition for its bold structure and emotional honesty.