Sarah Emma Edmonds was a Great Pretender

My children and I recently read Carrie Jones’s book, Sarah Emma Edmonds was  a Great Pretender. I have to admit that I wasn’t overly enamoured by either the writing nor the illustrations. However, the story of Sarah Emma Edmonds is fascinating.

Born in the mid 1800’s, Sarah was born a girl, which was enough of a strike against her. At the age of 16, she ran away to the States. Unable to support herself selling door to door as a woman, she disguised herself as a man. When she heard that the Union Army needed recruits, she signed up. She became a male nurse in the army and later went on to have a successful career as an army spy, all under the guise of her male persona, playing numerous characters, including both male and female, caucasian and African-American. The story prompted our family to learn more about the courageous young woman.

Disclaimer: A complimentary copy was provided by Lerner Publishing Group.