Customer Reviews

Wild Rose: Rose O'Neale Greenhow, Civil War Spy

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Maybe I'd heard of Rose Greenhow somewhere, but I certainly never knew anything about her amazing life in Washington before the Civil War, hob-nobbing with presidents, crossing the Isthmus of Panama, listening to John Calhoun's rants about Northern abolitionists and nursing him on his deathbed. Author Blackman paints a shocking portrait of the capital as a center of slavery, elitism and provincial thinking; muddy streets strewn with garbage and the story of a runaway presidential carriage. You can smell the city through her writing. Blackman's discovery of Rose's diary brings the woman to life. Who could imagine her arguing with Napoleon III or taking tea with Thomas Carlyle? The lively writing and careful attention to every detail make this book an illuminating exposition of American history.

This is one of the greatest true-life stories I've ever read. In fact, it's one of the best stories, period. I got my copy the day it came out, started reading after dinner and could not put the book down. I finished it before dawn. From the suspense of the opening chapter with a young woman crossing enemy lines until Rose's tragic death on her race for home, the detail and drama just kept me riveted. It's amazing that a 19th century woman could have so many adventures and accomplish so much at a time when women weren't even taken seriously, except to have babies and look after their husbands. I nominate Wild Rose for best history/biography of the year!

THIS HAS GOT TO BE THE BEST SPY THRILLER OF THE YEAR BUT THE BEST PART OF THIS BOOK IS ITS ALL TRUE AND IT ALL HAPPENED ITS NOT A NOVEL.I SAW ANN BLACKMAN ON TV AND I WAS SO IMPRESSED BY HER TALK THAT SHE GAVE ON THE LIFE OF THE SPY MASTER ROSE O NEALE GREENHOW THAT I BOUGHT THE BOOK RIGHT AWAY AND COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN ONCE I GOT MY HANDS ON IT.THIS TALENTED WRITER HAS TRACKED DOWN SO MANY NEW AND EXCITING DOCUMENTS AND FACTS THAT PROVE BEYOND A SHADOW OF A DOUBT THAT HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR GREENHOWS UNDERGROUND ACTIVITYS THINGS WOULD HAVE BEEN OVER SOONER FOR THE SOUTH . THIS REAL PAGE TURNER WOULD MAKE A WONDERFUL GIFT FOR A FAMILY MEMBER, A FRIEND , OR RECAMENDATIONS FOR YOUR CIVAL WAR ROUND TABLE OR CIVAL WAR BUFF OR HISTORY BUFF OR MILITARY BUFF. PLEASE GET THIS BOOK TO A SOLDIER SERVING OVER SEAS.

This is a delightful book, and in many ways:

1. It describes the life of a wonderfully interesting lady who didn't stay just home and make babies.

2. It gives a picture of Washington D.C. as it existed at the time of the Civil War. This picture is in two parts:
a. the physical aspects, the filth, smell, and how life was lived, and
b. the way Washington worked then (and now) power, money and sex.

3. It is based on new information -- her diary, originally thought to have been written in code, but in fact just very poor penmanship.

The story starts with a message sent to Gen. P.G.T Beauregard to give him an week's notice of when the Union Army would attack Manassas (Bull Run). He used this information to order reinforcements that enabled him to defeat the yankees. Through the course of the war Rose would be caught, imprisoned (without habeas corpus to even know the charges against her). She was exiled to the South, where she was sent by President Davis to France and England to try to get them to assist the South.

This is a fascinating book. All the more so because it is true. Rose was a character born long before her time.

Loved this book! Civil War Washington came to life with stories of walking along the Avenue & excursions to the market, plus the grit we didn't learn in school about slave cages not far from the Capitol. Blackman reveals Rose Greenhow's life in amazing detail-from the books Rose read to anecdotes from her personal diary. At the same time, Blackman explains the context of the period, the rising tension in the nation's capital & the complexity of Washington's intertwining political & social scenes. Beautifully written & packed with historical detail, this is definitely the best read of the summer.

There were many women in the spy business for the North and for the South. Rose certainly was a very important one for the South. Blackwell gives a very good account of Rose's life before the war and during the war. True stories are always more interesting than the fictional ones. Rose was a very remarkable woman. She clearly was important in the out come of Bull Run. Jefferson Davis felt that she could influence the English to give their support to the South. The author keeps you turning the pages in her story of Rose. By Ruth Thompson author of "The Bluegrass Dream" and "Natchez Above The River"

Perhaps many of you already know about the Southern socialite who passed critical information to Beauregard just before 1st Manassas. I just finished reading this excellent biography, Wild Rose, of the famous Confederate spy and firebrand, written by Ann Blackman, Random House, 2006. The author delves into the social life and politics of pre-bellum Washington, DC. with great care and finesse. Even though Blackman is obviously an abolitionist, nevertheless, she treats respectfully the beliefs and viewpoint of Rose Greenhow. The work is a scholarly labor with dozens of period photographs and hundreds of end notes. The author writes well and I highly recommend this work to anyone who is interested in just how life was in Washington in the 1840's and 1850's. You will be entranced reading about the balls, late night visits, slave antics and agonies, political shenanigans, prisons, and European courts.

Wild Rose with its great research by the author adds a rarely publized subject to the many civil war books and should go down as one of the most interesting. The research is fabulous and is used to paint a picture of the times thru the eyes of a politically active "idealist" leading to spying,prison, and eventually - her DEATH. For civil war history buffs(such as me) it has great qualilty and for those not into history, it is a story that could be repeated many times in the future.

Ann Blackman has written a very readable biography of the Confederate spy Rose O'Neale Greenhow. From modest roots in rural Maryland, the tragic, poverty-making loss of her father, a move to the Federal Capital, strategic marriage and a meteoric rise through the social ranks to claim a prime salon mistress spot leading up to the Civil War: Rose embodied the rags to riches ambition of people moving to Washington to get ahead. And doing it.

A widow in Washington as the war got underway in earnest, Rose was an unapolgetic Confederate. She clearly kept several men under her sexual spell to obtain military secrets. The account of Federal counterspy Allan Pinkerton standing on the shoulders of an associate, peeking in Rose's window while she romantically entertained a Federal officer (only after the officer delivered his secrets!) is down right funny.

Rose and her daughter's imprisonment after she was exposed was not funny at all. At least one fellow inmate was arbitrarily shot, and Rose herself was threatened. The prison conditions were bad, with vermin on the wall and in their bedding.

No further comment on the rest of Rose's story, as the reader should enjoy finding that on their own. The story is well covered here. Previously unpublished material is included. My suggestion for later editions of this work would be to put the preface as an afterword, as the current preface completely discloses the plot of Rose's life. If you buy the book, and don't know Rose's story, start your read with Chapter 1 and come back to the preface after finishing the work. You will better enjoy the suspense of Rose's life that way.

It is hard to sympathize with an ardent slavery advocate like Rose. Perhaps Rose's virulence on the topic derives from the apparent murder of her father by one of his slaves, and her family's resulting impoverishment. Ms. Blackmun takes a sympathetic view of the killer. Read her account yourself and draw your own inferences.

Rose comes across as an alive and vibrant character, one that you would like to have met. I sure would have. During my youth, my grandmother and great aunt, history buffs and confirmed DAR and UDC members, told me the Confederate legends about Rose and her burial site in Wilmington North Carolina's historic Oakdale Cemetary. Rose's grave has been attended by the UDC for generations. Going to visit my great aunt's grave a year after her passing, I was astounded to find my Aunt Lillian buried only 10 feet from Rose's grave. Clearly, my great aunt had leveraged her position in the UDC to obtain a coveted burial plot for herself in Rose's memorial space. Leveraging her position is something Rose knew about too, and I imagine Rose would have joined my wryful, applauding smile as I gazed that day at Aunt Lillian's feat.

Read "Wild Rose" and enjoy visiting Rose's story and that era yourself.

I could not put this book down. It would make a terrific movie!!!!!!!!!
The author's writing style made this book very visual for me. I live 20 minutes outside of Washington, D.C. and could identify the locales in the book.