One notch above...
The Shenandoah Spy stands one notch above other Civil War novels of recent years. It is especially remarkable that a male author is responsible for such a credible portrayal of the unequivocally feminine character of Belle Boyd. Furthermore, Francis Hamit has delivered a sympathetic heroine while withholding any such approval of the Confederate cause or Southern lifestyle. Given society's normally patriarchal perspective, this is no easy feat. Through historical verisimilitude and some fascinating relationship dynamics, the scenes of this novel were magnificently envisioned. The inclusion of alternate viewpoints such as those of David Strother (Belle's cousin who served as a Union army officer) was a clever way to define the tension of conflict-ridden communities as well as the divisive loyalties within each family during this tumultuous period. It would be interesting to read additional accounts of Antonia Ford or other female scouts and secret agents mentioned in the narrative. All of this leads one to wonder how the few recorded documents of these people and their deeds will continue to spark the imagination of Francis Hamit and inspire other future writers.
Richard Mandrachio (San Francisco)
Praise for “The Shenandoah Spy”
Real facts and fictional imagination are woven throughout the story....The writing is truly gifted and (Hamit) is inventive with his use of of real and fictional dialogs and narratives of people and events. He captures this place and time in our history (and ) does something else that is rather rare; he captures the female energy of Belle Boyd so that she has power, intelligence, sex appeal and cunning. He also gives us a good supporting cast of characters. For those who like the Civil War or just a good adventure story this is a book worth reading. I give it five stars.
W. H. McDonald, Jr. President
Military Writers Society of America
Francis Hamit has a good grasp of Historical Fiction. His novel is solidly based on the true story of Belle Boyd, including bits of dialog taken from historical accounts. He is able to fill in the “known” with the “believable” in terms of action and dialog, filling in the gaps and fleshing out the characters. His portrayal of African-American characters as having intelligence and their own lives and agendas, even under the burden of slavery, is something noteworthy.
Nick Smith
Civil War Roundtable
The intimacy of the Civil War for Southerners is detailed in Francis Hamit’s The Shenandoah Spy. The novel follows the first two years of the war, 1861 and 1862, and its effect on the life of Isabelle ‘Belle’ Boyd. Belle is a seventeenyear-old accomplished horsewoman at the war’s start. In defense of her home and family, Belle shoots a Union soldier. Following this incident, Belle is drawn into a network of Confederate spies. At all stages of Belle’s work as a spy she is trained and in contact with men and women who are relatives, neighbors, or family friends.
Although Belle becomes a valuable Confederate spy, her reputation and personal happiness suffer tremendously as she is viewed as a Union sympathizer. Belle’s courage in facing the disapprobation and slander when she is accused of being a whore of the Union officers, and in delivering Union information to the Confederate Army at the risk of her own life, is shown repeatedly throughout the narrative.
To some degree Belle’s sex protects her from suspicion. Who would believe a girl of seventeen to be a dangerous enemy? An astute Union commander, however, observes that “The South, being poor in resources and singularly without friends, has been forced to innovate. Girls like her are one of the innovations.” To cover Belle’s devastation when a Confederate contact is killed, Belle’s cousin Alice explains to the Union officers at a dinner party after Belle flees, “There is no one in our army who is not a brother, a father, an uncle, a dear friend or a cousin!” Francis Hamit illustrates this fact superbly in his relation of the experiences of Belle Boyd, The Shenandoah Spy.
Eva Ulett
Historical Novels Review Online
A Fascinating Account of a Fascinating Woman.
Belle Boyd was an active spy for the Confederates during the Civil War. Motivated by love for her homeland and a fierce indignation at, not to say hatred of, the invaders (the Union Army), Belle at 17 became a spy and devoted herself to driving the invaders from the South. Most young women of her day and age devoted themselves to enhancing their looks in order to catch husbands, even with the War on. Most young women of that era practiced the alluring arts they learned at finishing schools to attract men.
Belle did, too, but in a greater cause -- freedom as she saw it.
In creating this character, author Francis Hamit has broken relatively new ground. First he has written about a nineteenth-century Southern woman, whom most writers dismiss as confined to the parlor and the bedchamber. Second, he has dared to present the Confederate side of the Civil War, when most writers dismiss the Confederacy as an evil conspiracy to prolong slavery. It may have been determined to prolong slavery, but many Southerners also viewed the Union Army as an illegal invader of their territory. In presenting Belle's opinions and feelings sympathetically, Hamit has shown the courage of a committed writer.
"Shenandoah Spy" is a book worth reading. 5.0 out of 5 stars
Carol A. Buchanan (Montana, United States)
“I found The Shenandoah Spy a delightful and fascinating book, and recommend it highly.”
I became aware of Francis Hamit via his online discussions about publishing with the science fiction writer Jerry Pournelle. I’ve always had an interest in history, so I decided to take a chance on Hamit’s book The Shenandoah Spy. I’m truly glad I did.
Hamit’s book is a novel about a real person, Maria Isabella “Belle” Boyd. Seventeen when the war started, she was a Confederate sympathizer living in Martinsburg Virginia (now part of West Virginia). The historical record is somewhat hazy, but it’s known for a fact that Belle could ride and shoot, and was quite charming. She used these attributes to become a spy and scout for the Confederacy. Her most famous episode was a dash while under Union rifle fire to deliver a report to Confederate General Stonewall Jackson. This report was critical to him winning a battle at the town of Front Royal, and earned her a commendation.
Writing about a Confederate hero risks being seen as a sympathizer to a very bad cause, but Hamit is quite clearly not a sympathizer. His novel highlights a number of the failures and moral flaws of the Confederacy, but avoids being preachy. Shenandoah Spy covers the period in Belle’s life from July 1861 to July 1862. During this period, referred to as the Valley Campaign by historians, Jackson with 17,000 men kept a Union force of some 60,000 occupied, preventing them from capturing the Shenandoah Valley (a prime breadbasket for the South) or attacking Richmond.
Belle in particular and the well-organized Confederate Secret Service in general kept Jackson informed of Union operations, and ran rings around the Union counterintelligence operation. Hamit tells this story in an entertaining fashion from several perspectives, including David Strother, an artist and cousin of Belle’s, who served as a Union army officer.
The novel is told in straight chronological order, which leads to a bit of a deliberate start, but the interesting bits come on soon enough. Hamit’s prose is clear and serviceable, rendering the various regional dialects in a clear and readable manner. In The Shenandoah Spy Hamit focuses quite a bit on the motivations of the characters, which he handles convincingly.
He also works these motivations into a discussion of why the South lost, and why they should have lost. For example, early on, Belle serves as a volunteer nurse in a hospital. Despite the clear and desperate need to keep wounded Confederate soldiers alive, this work is considered scandalous by Belle’s peers, who shun her while refusing to assist. The work is simply considered beneath a white woman’s dignity.
I found The Shenandoah Spy a delightful and fascinating book, and recommend it highly.
TECHNICAL RATING 10 / 10
CONTENT RATING 9 / 10
Chris Gerrib is a resident of Villa Park, IL and Director of Technology for a Chicago-area bank. Chris is the author of the science fiction novel The Mars Run. He holds degrees from the University of Illinois and Southern Illinois University and is past president of the Rotary Club of Darien, IL.
Posted by Chris Gerrib at 8:47 PM
Labels: 9/10, Chris Gerrib
Chris Gerrib (Villa Park, IL)
5.0 out of 5 stars A riveting and recommended tale, September 2, 2008
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
Although Women were not formally allowed to become soldiers until the late twentieth century, this doesn't mean they did not participate. "The Shenandoah Spy" is the story of Isabelle Boyd and her time as a confederate spy. Disguising her acts in public by appearing as a Union sympathizer, she uses many deceptive tactics to keep her identity under wraps as she does everything she can in order to give the Confederacy a leg up in the American Civil War. Hamit has done his research, and it shows in "The Shenandoah Spy", a riveting and recommended tale of women in the war where the most American lives were lost.
Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)