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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
A historical narrative that focuses on the lives of four very different women during the Civil War: two supporting the Confederacy and two supporting the Union, three doing so through spying and one through pretending to be a man in order to serve as a Union soldier. This book is not so much about the Civil War as it is about the experiences of these women with snippets of intriguing information embedded in their stories such as "respectable" women didn't go into the post office or talk about pregnancy, the South looked down on Varina Davis, the rumored death of Davis's son at the hands of his brother, etc.
Although 400ish pages, I found it a quick and enjoyable read due to the short chapters that flipped back and forth between the four viewpoints, leaving me on the edge of my seat as to what was going to happen next to Belle, the flashy out-in-the-open Confederate spy, Emma "Frank", the Godly sweet-hearted Union soldier, Elizabeth, the rich spinister supporting the entire "Richmond Underground" spy ring for the Union and Rose, the sought after seductress who put the South above her child and physical safety. The prologue is just as mesmerizing as the book itself, especially Belle's, who, if alive today, would most likely be a guest on Jerry Springer.
Although 400ish pages, I found it a quick and enjoyable read due to the short chapters that flipped back and forth between the four viewpoints, leaving me on the edge of my seat as to what was going to happen next to Belle, the flashy out-in-the-open Confederate spy, Emma "Frank", the Godly sweet-hearted Union soldier, Elizabeth, the rich spinister supporting the entire "Richmond Underground" spy ring for the Union and Rose, the sought after seductress who put the South above her child and physical safety. The prologue is just as mesmerizing as the book itself, especially Belle's, who, if alive today, would most likely be a guest on Jerry Springer.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
slow-paced
adventurous
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
This book was well written easy to read. I knew some of Rose Greenhow before. I found the two confederate women to be less than. Elizabeth Van Lew was perhaps my favorite out of all the women. Belle Boyd was annoying as one could be.
Emma Edmonds impersonated a man during the civil war fighting and spying for the Union forces. As many as 400 women, in both the North and South, were posing and fighting as men. After the war she would write how own memoir, selling 175,000 copies. She donated all of her new wealth the wounded soldiers of the Army of the Potomac.
Rose Greenhow was sent as Confederate President Jefferson Davis's emissary to the French and British elite, in hopes that she may rally support for their cause. It was extremely unconventional. Davis considered her ideally suited for the job. She was articulate, fluent in French and imperious as any royal. She would die jumping over a boat to escape the Union boats overtaking them.
Elizabeth Van Lew was perhaps the bravest of them all. Risking her own home to help the Union cause. She made herself known to them. She would end up giving information to General Grant, helping his success at the end of the war. Grant sent her a personal note saying, "You have sent me the most valuable information received from Richmond during the war." When Grant became President he appointed Elizabeth as postmaster of Richmond, one of the highest federal offices a woman could hold.
Emma Edmonds impersonated a man during the civil war fighting and spying for the Union forces. As many as 400 women, in both the North and South, were posing and fighting as men. After the war she would write how own memoir, selling 175,000 copies. She donated all of her new wealth the wounded soldiers of the Army of the Potomac.
Rose Greenhow was sent as Confederate President Jefferson Davis's emissary to the French and British elite, in hopes that she may rally support for their cause. It was extremely unconventional. Davis considered her ideally suited for the job. She was articulate, fluent in French and imperious as any royal. She would die jumping over a boat to escape the Union boats overtaking them.
Elizabeth Van Lew was perhaps the bravest of them all. Risking her own home to help the Union cause. She made herself known to them. She would end up giving information to General Grant, helping his success at the end of the war. Grant sent her a personal note saying, "You have sent me the most valuable information received from Richmond during the war." When Grant became President he appointed Elizabeth as postmaster of Richmond, one of the highest federal offices a woman could hold.
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
this was a really, really interesting book to read and again,i'm amazed by the depths of abbott’s research. this is the kind of history i’d hoped for from her book about gypsy rose, just better structured and easier to slog through.
the book is, unsurprisingly, about female spies during the civil war – two union sympathizers and two confederates. i’d heard of two of the four women she profiled (belle boyd and rose o'neal greenhow) but not emma edmonds or elizabeth van lew, and reading both of their stories, and particularly their sheer courage, was pretty amazing.
it was interesting, too, to see how each woman (all with incredibly strong beliefs) navigated the social mores and the way women were treated at the time. greenhow operated within that paradigm (seducing men) while edmonds had to live as a man in order to join the army. none of them really had “happy endings” – belle boyd suffered through divorces and nervous breakdowns; greenhow drowned on a blockade runner; van lew became a lonely social outcast; and edmonds … well, I suppose her story is the “happiest,” even if it’s not necessarily what she wanted for herself.
any quoted dialogue is taken verbatim from memoirs or letters, and in that sense, you really felt like you could hear these women talking across the years.
the book is, unsurprisingly, about female spies during the civil war – two union sympathizers and two confederates. i’d heard of two of the four women she profiled (belle boyd and rose o'neal greenhow) but not emma edmonds or elizabeth van lew, and reading both of their stories, and particularly their sheer courage, was pretty amazing.
it was interesting, too, to see how each woman (all with incredibly strong beliefs) navigated the social mores and the way women were treated at the time. greenhow operated within that paradigm (seducing men) while edmonds had to live as a man in order to join the army. none of them really had “happy endings” – belle boyd suffered through divorces and nervous breakdowns; greenhow drowned on a blockade runner; van lew became a lonely social outcast; and edmonds … well, I suppose her story is the “happiest,” even if it’s not necessarily what she wanted for herself.
any quoted dialogue is taken verbatim from memoirs or letters, and in that sense, you really felt like you could hear these women talking across the years.
3.5 stars I enjoyed this one.
However, like others I had some questions about the accuracy of some stories shared/presented as truth.
But enjoyable on the whole.
However, like others I had some questions about the accuracy of some stories shared/presented as truth.
But enjoyable on the whole.
I'm sure this book is wonderful for folks who love the civil war or non-fiction. It reads like a textbook and I just couldn't make it through. The audiobook does NOT help. Tried that.
More like 3.5.
A fascinating read - perhaps because of the side they supported, I found Emma Edmonds and Elizabeth Van Lew's stories to be the most engaging, whereas I did not have much patience for Belle Boyd or Rose O'Neal Greenhow (especially the latter). I appreciated the author's choice to have the book read more like fiction than nonfiction, as nonfiction - especially historical nonfiction, where Everything Must Be Factual At All Costs - can be very dry sometimes.
A fascinating read - perhaps because of the side they supported, I found Emma Edmonds and Elizabeth Van Lew's stories to be the most engaging, whereas I did not have much patience for Belle Boyd or Rose O'Neal Greenhow (especially the latter). I appreciated the author's choice to have the book read more like fiction than nonfiction, as nonfiction - especially historical nonfiction, where Everything Must Be Factual At All Costs - can be very dry sometimes.