Belle Boyd in Camp and Prison: (Volumes I & II)
"WILL you take my life?" This was the somewhat startling question put to me by Mrs. Hardinge - better known as Belle Boyd - on my recent introduction to her in Jermyn Street. "Madam," said I, "a sprite like you, who has so often run the gauntlet by sea and land, who has had so many hair-breadth escapes by flood and field, must bear a 'charmed life: ' I dare not attempt it." Then, placing in my hands a roll of manuscript, she said, "Take this; read it, revise it, rewrite it, publish it, or burn it - do what you will. It is the story of my adventures, misfortunes, imprisonments, and persecutions. I have written all from memory since I have been here in London; and, perhaps, by putting me in the third person you can make a book that will be not only acceptable to the public and profitable to myself, but one that will do some good to the cause of my poor country, a cause which seems to be so little understood in England." I took the manuscript, promising to look it over, and return it with an estimate of its merits. I have done so; and hence the publication of "Belle Boyd, in Camp and Prison." The work is entirely her own, with the exception of a few suggestions in the shape of footnotes - the simple, unambitious narrative of an enthusiastic and intrepid schoolgirl, who had not yet seen her seventeenth summer when the cloud of war darkened her land, changing all the music of her young life, her peaceful "home, sweet home," into the bugle blasts of battle, into scenes of death and most tumultuous sorrow.
1117057782
Belle Boyd in Camp and Prison: (Volumes I & II)
"WILL you take my life?" This was the somewhat startling question put to me by Mrs. Hardinge - better known as Belle Boyd - on my recent introduction to her in Jermyn Street. "Madam," said I, "a sprite like you, who has so often run the gauntlet by sea and land, who has had so many hair-breadth escapes by flood and field, must bear a 'charmed life: ' I dare not attempt it." Then, placing in my hands a roll of manuscript, she said, "Take this; read it, revise it, rewrite it, publish it, or burn it - do what you will. It is the story of my adventures, misfortunes, imprisonments, and persecutions. I have written all from memory since I have been here in London; and, perhaps, by putting me in the third person you can make a book that will be not only acceptable to the public and profitable to myself, but one that will do some good to the cause of my poor country, a cause which seems to be so little understood in England." I took the manuscript, promising to look it over, and return it with an estimate of its merits. I have done so; and hence the publication of "Belle Boyd, in Camp and Prison." The work is entirely her own, with the exception of a few suggestions in the shape of footnotes - the simple, unambitious narrative of an enthusiastic and intrepid schoolgirl, who had not yet seen her seventeenth summer when the cloud of war darkened her land, changing all the music of her young life, her peaceful "home, sweet home," into the bugle blasts of battle, into scenes of death and most tumultuous sorrow.
23.99 In Stock
Belle Boyd in Camp and Prison: (Volumes I & II)

Belle Boyd in Camp and Prison: (Volumes I & II)

by Belle Boyd
Belle Boyd in Camp and Prison: (Volumes I & II)

Belle Boyd in Camp and Prison: (Volumes I & II)

by Belle Boyd

Paperback

$23.99 
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Overview

"WILL you take my life?" This was the somewhat startling question put to me by Mrs. Hardinge - better known as Belle Boyd - on my recent introduction to her in Jermyn Street. "Madam," said I, "a sprite like you, who has so often run the gauntlet by sea and land, who has had so many hair-breadth escapes by flood and field, must bear a 'charmed life: ' I dare not attempt it." Then, placing in my hands a roll of manuscript, she said, "Take this; read it, revise it, rewrite it, publish it, or burn it - do what you will. It is the story of my adventures, misfortunes, imprisonments, and persecutions. I have written all from memory since I have been here in London; and, perhaps, by putting me in the third person you can make a book that will be not only acceptable to the public and profitable to myself, but one that will do some good to the cause of my poor country, a cause which seems to be so little understood in England." I took the manuscript, promising to look it over, and return it with an estimate of its merits. I have done so; and hence the publication of "Belle Boyd, in Camp and Prison." The work is entirely her own, with the exception of a few suggestions in the shape of footnotes - the simple, unambitious narrative of an enthusiastic and intrepid schoolgirl, who had not yet seen her seventeenth summer when the cloud of war darkened her land, changing all the music of her young life, her peaceful "home, sweet home," into the bugle blasts of battle, into scenes of death and most tumultuous sorrow.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781466400917
Publisher: CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date: 01/01/2009
Pages: 264
Product dimensions: 5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.55(d)

About the Author

One of the most famous of Confederate spies, Belle Boyd served the Confederate forces in the Shenandoah Valley. Born in Martinsburg-now part of West Virginia-she operated her spying operations from her fathers hotel in Front Royal, providing valuable information to Generals Turner Ashby and "Stonewall" Jackson during the spring 1862 campaign in the Valley. The latter general then made her a captain and honorary aide-de-camp on his staff. As such she was able to witness troops reviews. Betrayed by her lover, she was arrested on July 29, 1862, and held for a month in the Old Capitol Prison in Washington. Exchanged a month later, she was in exile with relatives for a time but was again arrested in June 1863 while on a visit to Martinsburg. On December 1, 1863, she was released, suffering from typhoid, and was then sent to Europe to regain her health. The blockade runner she attempted to return on was captured and she fell in love with the prize master, Samuel Hardinge, who later married her in England after being dropped from the navy's rolls for neglect of duty in allowing her to proceed to Canada and then England. Hardinge attempted to reach Richmond, was detained in Union hands, but died soon after his release. While in England Belle Boyd Hardinge had a stage career and published Belle Boyd in Camp and Prison. She died while touring the western United States.
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