Southern Lady, Yankee Spy

The True Story of Elizabeth Van Lew, a Union Agent in the Heart of the Confederacy

Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States, Civil War Period (1850-1877), Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Gender Studies, Women&, Biography & Memoir
Cover of the book Southern Lady, Yankee Spy by Elizabeth R. Varon, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Elizabeth R. Varon ISBN: 9780190286521
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: October 2, 2003
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: Elizabeth R. Varon
ISBN: 9780190286521
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: October 2, 2003
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

Northern sympathizer in the Confederate capital, daring spymaster, postwar politician: Elizabeth Van Lew was one of the most remarkable figures in American history, a woman who defied the conventions of the nineteenth-century South. In Southern Lady, Yankee Spy, historian Elizabeth Varon provides a gripping, richly researched account of the woman who led what one historian called "the most productive espionage operation of the Civil War." Under the nose of the Confederate government, Van Lew ran a spy ring that gathered intelligence, hampered the Southern war effort, and helped scores of Union soldiers to escape from Richmond prisons. Varon describes a woman who was very much a product of her time and place, yet continually took controversial stands--from her early efforts to free her family's slaves, to her daring wartime activities and beyond. Varon's powerful biography brings Van Lew to life, showing how she used the stereotypes of the day to confound Confederate authorities (who suspected her, but could not believe a proper Southern lady could be a spy), even as she brought together Union sympathizers at all levels of society, from slaves to slaveholders. After the war, a grateful President Ulysses S. Grant named her postmaster of Richmond--a remarkable break with custom for this politically influential post. But her Unionism, Republican politics, and outspoken support of racial justice earned her a lifetime of scorn in the former Confederate capital. Even today, Elizabeth Van Lew remains a controversial figure in her beloved Richmond, remembered as the "Crazy Bet" of Lost Cause propaganda. Elizabeth Varon's account rescues her from both derision and oblivion, depicting an intelligent, resourceful, highly principled woman who remained, as she saw it, true to her country to the end.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Northern sympathizer in the Confederate capital, daring spymaster, postwar politician: Elizabeth Van Lew was one of the most remarkable figures in American history, a woman who defied the conventions of the nineteenth-century South. In Southern Lady, Yankee Spy, historian Elizabeth Varon provides a gripping, richly researched account of the woman who led what one historian called "the most productive espionage operation of the Civil War." Under the nose of the Confederate government, Van Lew ran a spy ring that gathered intelligence, hampered the Southern war effort, and helped scores of Union soldiers to escape from Richmond prisons. Varon describes a woman who was very much a product of her time and place, yet continually took controversial stands--from her early efforts to free her family's slaves, to her daring wartime activities and beyond. Varon's powerful biography brings Van Lew to life, showing how she used the stereotypes of the day to confound Confederate authorities (who suspected her, but could not believe a proper Southern lady could be a spy), even as she brought together Union sympathizers at all levels of society, from slaves to slaveholders. After the war, a grateful President Ulysses S. Grant named her postmaster of Richmond--a remarkable break with custom for this politically influential post. But her Unionism, Republican politics, and outspoken support of racial justice earned her a lifetime of scorn in the former Confederate capital. Even today, Elizabeth Van Lew remains a controversial figure in her beloved Richmond, remembered as the "Crazy Bet" of Lost Cause propaganda. Elizabeth Varon's account rescues her from both derision and oblivion, depicting an intelligent, resourceful, highly principled woman who remained, as she saw it, true to her country to the end.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book Psychiatric Genetics by Elizabeth R. Varon
Cover of the book France: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide by Elizabeth R. Varon
Cover of the book Reckoning with Reagan by Elizabeth R. Varon
Cover of the book Sorry I Don't Dance by Elizabeth R. Varon
Cover of the book The Morphosyntax-Phonology Connection by Elizabeth R. Varon
Cover of the book Apostles of Reason by Elizabeth R. Varon
Cover of the book When Men Murder Women by Elizabeth R. Varon
Cover of the book The Peace Continuum by Elizabeth R. Varon
Cover of the book Dark Times, Dire Decisions by Elizabeth R. Varon
Cover of the book Galileo in Rome by Elizabeth R. Varon
Cover of the book Goodman's Neurosurgery Oral Board Review by Elizabeth R. Varon
Cover of the book Child Poverty and Inequality by Elizabeth R. Varon
Cover of the book Parade of Faiths by Elizabeth R. Varon
Cover of the book Poetic Conventions as Cognitive Fossils by Elizabeth R. Varon
Cover of the book Making Slavery History by Elizabeth R. Varon
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy