Wild Rose tells the story of Rose O'Neal Greenhow, the beautiful Southern socialite who became a spy during the Civil War, using her high-powered relationships in Washington to pass critical information from Union insiders to her allies in the Confederate Army. Friends with the nation's most famous and powerful politicians, including Senators Calhoun and Webster, James and Dolley Madison,...
Wild Rose tells the story of Rose O'Neal Greenhow, the beautiful Southern socialite who became a spy during the Civil War, using her high-powered relationships in Washington to pass critical information from Union insiders to her allies in the Confederate Army. Friends with the nation's most famous and powerful politicians, including Senators Calhoun and Webster, James and Dolley Madison, Jefferson Davis and President Van Buren, Rose had incredible access to military intelligence and her secret communications to the Confederacy directly affected the war, and troop movements of both the Northern and Southern Armies. In addition to chronicling Rose's dramatic career as a spy--revealing how she loosened tongues and strategically seduced important figures--Wild Rose paints a portrait of Washington D.C. during the Civil War. You feel you are walking around Washington, as this vivid work shows how upper-level political battles were played out in Washington social circles, and how the intense debate over slavery affected daily life in the capital. Blackman's portrayal of Rose's dramatic personal life enhances the chronicle of her wild career. From her earliest days on a Maryland tobacco plantation where her father was murdered by a slave, to her drowning at sea following a mission to Europe for the Confederacy, Rose's life was full of passion, inventiveness, and drama. In Wild Rose, Ann Blackman treats us to a superbly-researched and wonderfully readable portrait of a unique and influential woman, renowned for her beauty and her tenacity, who played an extraordinary role in this nation's early history.
Requires a narrator who can perform:
Fiction/Nonfiction:
Nonfiction
Accent:
American-General American
Vocal Style:
Straightforward
Title Information:
Date posted to ACX:
May 05 2011
Original publication date:
2005-06-07
Amazon sales rank:
1154158
Amazon rating:
4.4 out of 5 stars (18 ratings)
Comments from the Rights Holder:
Ann Blackman is a journalist and the author of Seasons of Her Life: A Biography of Madeleine Korbel Albright and co-author of The Spy Next Door, about the FBI agent Robert Philip Hanssen. In her thirty year career in journalism, she has covered US and foreign politics, and has written often about American social policy. Blackman is married to Michael Putzel. They have two grown children and live in Washington.
CHARACTER: Rose O'Neal Greenhow is fascinating woman, whose double life as a Washington socialite and tough-girl spy is full of intrigue. While she is mentioned in many Civil War books, this is the first book to provide a comprehensive and compelling account of the woman and her times.
THE CIVIL WAR: Blackman's research into the characters of the time--from the Washington political elite to rural Maryland slaves to Rose herself--is formidable, and she provides new perspectives on familiar stories.
WASHINGTON, DC: Wild Rose showcases the young capital city, with landmarks still known today.
AUTHOR: An accomplished journalist and author of an acclaimed biography of Madeleine Albright, Ann Blackman writes with confidence and finesse.