Author and book please... "He - for there could be no doubt of his sex, though the fashion of the time did something to disguise it - was in the act of slicing at the head of a Moor which swung from the rafters."
Orlando by Virginia Woolf. And here's some more trivia: some idiot (probably a jealous male) spread the rumor that Orlando Bloom was named after a man who became a woman in said novel.
Umm, I'm not second guessing Countess...I was going to guess something not even close. I'll give you a kit kat if I get a pass though WAS. Long time no see writer, don't be a stranger.
BINGO! Countess got it! "Orlando" by Virginia Woolf! Good job... Now, sorry for being a stranger. Life gets busy sometimes, no?