Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy

Four Women Undercover in the Civil War

De: Karen Abbott

Narrado por: Karen White

Karen Abbott, the New York Times best-selling author of Sin in the Second City and "pioneer of sizzle history" (USA Today), tells the spellbinding true story of four women who risked everything to become spies during the Civil War.

Karen Abbott illuminates one of the most fascinating yet little-known aspects of the Civil War: The stories of four courageous women - a socialite, a farmgirl, an abolitionist, and a widow - who were spies.

After shooting a Union soldier in her front hall with a pocket pistol, Belle Boyd became a courier and spy for the Confederate army, using her charms to seduce men on both sides. Emma Edmonds cut off her hair and assumed the identity of a man to enlist as a Union private, witnessing the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. The beautiful widow, Rose O'Neale Greenhow, engaged in affairs with powerful Northern politicians to gather intelligence for the Confederacy, and used her young daughter to send information to Southern generals. Elizabeth Van Lew, a wealthy Richmond abolitionist, hid behind her proper Southern manners as she orchestrated a far-reaching espionage ring, right under the noses of suspicious rebel detectives.

Using a wealth of primary source material and interviews with the spies' descendants, Abbott seamlessly weaves the adventures of these four heroines throughout the tumultuous years of the war. With a cast of real-life characters including Walt Whitman, Nathaniel Hawthorne, General Stonewall Jackson, detective Allan Pinkerton, Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln, and Emperor Napoleon III, Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy draws you into the war as these daring women lived it.

©2014 Karen Abbott (P)2014 HarperCollins Publishers

engaging

Love it and I'm usually into history stuff. great story's wonderful arranged. keep my attention from the beginning.

Find a different narrator, but make sure to read

Great story. I think it would make a fantastic popcorn flick. The narrator is indecisive weather to use a character's voice, or her information voice. This was bearable, but annoying. I would recommend this one as a read, not a audio book. I feel that I would have compleated it sooner if there was a different narrator.

Wonderful!!

A fascinating account of women during the civil war on both the Union and Confederate side.

Finally a book Civil War Heroines have long deserve

Wonderful and detailed book that doesn’t go dry with boring details or moves too fast that you can’t keep up. So great to finally find a good book on women’s history on Audible (a rare find with all the male dominated military and political history). If you love women’s history, this is the book for you.

Highly informative!

Well researched and compiled. It’s four stories interwoven. I found myself drifting somewhere else at times, but that is because this is not my favorite genre. It is very well written and performed.

Wonderful Civil War story

I have read several things about the Civil War including the stellar Killer Angels, but I am so grateful to have read this book about for iron women who served their respective countries with gumption and dignity!

Narration by a computer

Fascinating story about the involvement of women during the civil war. Although written well, for me it was difficult to keep all the women straight; who did what and when. The biggest drawback is the narrative by Karen White. Is she really a person? Her voice mimics a computer and has zero inflection. I’d steer clear of this book if you don’t wish to hear a recorded message sounding book.

miscast narrator/suspenseful historical stories

Of all the women heroes of the civil war, Abbott chose well. Solid research and arrangement of their 4 stories a fun read. professional narrator, but felt miscast.

The narrator’s jerky delivery of every sentence ruined it for me!

I have read and listened to dozens of fiction and non-fiction books about the Civil War. As a result, I was familiar with the the two most famous female Confederate spies.
If it had not been for this author’s interesting melding of the four women’s involvement in their missions, I would have returned this Audible book after the first fifteen excruciating minutes.
Who, in their right mind, wants to listen to a narrator who hops, skips,pauses, and almost hiccups through a single sentence? Is is just because she doesn’t believe the author’s work is interesting in its own right?
I was so frustrated with the sporadic reading that I seriously considered asking for refund, but I just decided to finish it at a faster speed, out of respect for the author. Why.Would.anyone.narrate.even....a. single sentence, in a staccato style? I am so sorry, but this experience was a nightmare.
I have never complained like this before, but I needed to vent. Whew!

Sensational!

What a freaking thrill ride. Karen Abbott found four of the most interesting and well-documented women in the Civil War and took off like a shot. One narcissist, two socialites, one cross-dresser, all spies.

I'm relatively knowledgeable about the American Civil War thanks to my father and the constant rehashing of the history from 4th grade through high school. Never before have I read something that gets so perfectly in depth about what the hell happened in Richmond. The microfocus on this particular city lends more depth and humanity to each person we meet--whether that's Pinkerton (mhmm, how did you think they started?) or Stonewall Jackson (yeah, he's there, too.)

It was a great look at how thoroughly incompetent some of the Union Generals were. This is less a history-written-by-the-winners... there's a lot of facepalming over McClellan.

Anyway, give it a listen.

The narrator, Karen White, was not great. 3 of 5 stars for her. She has the tendency to read in a stilted, serious "this is nonfiction" pattern, rather give way to the delightful narrative flow Abbott provided.