And Elizabeth Van Lew orchestrated a spy ring and placed a former slave in the Confederate White House.Įlizabeth Ven Lew’s story is only part of the book Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy, but it gives you a good look into her real life and story. Rose O’Neal used her influence to send information to Southern generals. Emma Edmonds disguised herself as a man to join the Union Army. Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy covers the lives of four women who made a difference during the Civil War.īelle Boyd became a spy for the Confederate army.

Now for the nonfiction version of the story. The author researched a famous historical figure and weaved a fictitious story into the well known facts. During the Civil War she gained military intelligence, helped with the underground railroad, and more. It is based on the life of Elizabeth Van Lew. It is a historical novel set during the Civil War. The Spy Mistress by Jennifer Chiaverini was published in 2013. I guess my desire to read both the fact and the fiction has been strong for awhile. Today I am starting with The Spy Mistress vs Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy.īoth of these books are ones that I read a few years ago. I thought it would be fun to occasionally share some of these book pairings with you. I want to learn the facts and read the fiction. I now have a goal of reading more fiction and nonfiction book pairings. Instead of learning about fictitious people, I got to learn about the real people behind the story. Reading the nonfiction version gave me a better insight to the whole story. Over the last few months I have read a couple of fiction books that have left me wanting for more, so I researched the nonfiction version of the same story. It gives you a longing to know the whole story or the real version. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t enjoy a good fiction read as well.Ī good historical fiction book leaves you wanting to know more.

Liar temptress soldier spy book review