Daughter of a daughter of a queen

Many historical novels celebrate strong women whose accomplishments went unheralded in their time. Cathy Williams, the first black woman to serve in the U.S. Army, is a prime example. Bird's (Above the East China Sea, 2014) fictionalized version of her life begins in 1864, when Yankee general Philip Sheridan burns the Missouri plantation where she is enslaved and takes her as contraband to become his cook's assistant. Cathy is proud of her illustrious African heritage, and her witty voice and down-to-earth honesty enliven her lengthy tale. After Appomattox, declining a traditional feminine role, she dresses as a man and enlists as William Cathay. Bird's meaty epic provides abundant, intimate details about Cathy's life as a Buffalo Soldier: her patrols on the western frontier; the racism of her unit's white commanding officer; and the harassment she endures from her fellow soldiers, who find her self-protective modesty unnatural. She's also secretly attracted to her fair-minded sergeant. If you don't push, you never move ahead, she notes, determining never to be unfree again. An admiring novel about a groundbreaking, mentally tough woman.--Sarah Johnson Copyright 2018 Booklist

Bird's rich historical novel (after Above the East China Sea) is a layered study of post-Civil War America from the imagined perspective of remarkable Buffalo Soldier Cathy/Cathay Williams, the first woman to serve in the legendary all-black cavalry and infantry. Mining the rich terrain of Civil War military history, the nation's western expansion and clashes with Native Americans, and the fraught issues of gender and race relations, Bird frames an epic romantic tale around Williams. It tracks her life from the time she's taken from her family as "contraband" by the Union Army in the waning days of the Civil War, to her service as a cook's aide to Gen. Philip Sheridan, to her illicit enlistment in the Army-disguised as William Cathay-and service as a rifleman with the Buffalo Soldiers cavalry. Williams, as narrator, reveals a bravado fueled by her love of dashing Yankee soldier Wager Swayne, hero-worship of Sheridan, and pride in her heritage as the granddaughter of an African queen. Bird's fast-paced, action-packed story is a bittersweet one-grand love and legacy ultimately eluded Williams-but this fearless, often heartbreaking account sheds a welcome light on an extraordinary American warrior. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Developed from an original screenplay that won a place in the Meryl Streep-funded Writers Lab in 2015, this novel wraps a fictional narrative around the real-life Cathy Williams, the only woman, disguised as a man, to serve with the Buffalo Soldiers following the Civil War. Born a slave to a descendant of an African Amazon queen, Cathy is liberated from a miserable Missouri tobacco farm when Gen. Philip Sheridan burns it to the ground. Requisitioned from the farm by Sheridan to become his cook's helper, she attracts the protective attention of chef Solomon, who helps her navigate the military life. When the war ends, Cathy and Solomon's plans to head West fall apart, leading her to refashion herself as a "William Cathay" so she can join the peacekeeping forces of Sgt. Levi Allbright in the cavalry. Verdict Bird (Above the East China Sea) crafts a number of clever scenarios that build tension around Cathy's disguise as a man, creating a not-to-be-missed read for fans of historical military fiction and strong female protagonists.-Wendy W. Paige, Shelby Cty. P.L., Morristown, IN © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Lightly based on the true story of a freed female slave who posed as a man, joined the army, and served with the Buffalo Soldiers, this rollicking epic marches fearlessly from the Civil War South to the sunburned edge of the Western frontier."[M]y real life, the one I was meant to have, did not start until an August night in 1864, three years into the war, when I watched the only world I'd ever known burn to the ground and met the man who was to be my deliverance and my damnation, the Yankee general Philip Henry Sheridan." In her 10th novel, Bird (Above the East China Sea, 2014, etc.) delivers a high-energy page-turner that combines vividly re-created historical figures and events with a wild mustang of a plot and an embattled secret love, the last of which fans will recognize as a specialty of this author. Very much like Onion in The Good Lord Bird, Cathy Williams successfully poses as a man to find her way out of the particular hell reserved for young black girls of this period. In fact, when we meet her, she has already gotten away with a diabolical plot to kill her owner as punishment for "interfering" with her little sister and has taken to wearing britches. When Sheridan's troops arrive to pillage whatever food and supplies are left on the plantation, they requisition Cathy as well, thinking she's a young man and just the right person to help their cook. Torn from her mother and sister, she is tossed in the back of a wagon to ride up to camp. In it she finds a mortally wounded black Yankee soldier with whom she falls hopelessly in love just before he expires and is tossed over the side. This author has no trouble keeping a crazy romance with a dead person going great guns while exploring the very real historical ironies of black soldiers sent to subdue Native American tribes. Meanwhile, the travails of this woman-pretending-to-be-a-man echo across the centuries.Rapturously imagined and shamelessly entertaining. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Many historical novels celebrate strong women whose accomplishments went unheralded in their time. Cathy Williams, the first black woman to serve in the U.S. Army, is a prime example. Bird's (Above the East China Sea, 2014) fictionalized version of her life begins in 1864, when Yankee general Philip Sheridan burns the Missouri plantation where she is enslaved and takes her as "contraband" to become his cook's assistant. Cathy is proud of her illustrious African heritage, and her witty voice and down-to-earth honesty enliven her lengthy tale. After Appomattox, declining a traditional feminine role, she dresses as a man and enlists as "William Cathay." Bird's meaty epic provides abundant, intimate details about Cathy's life as a Buffalo Soldier: her patrols on the western frontier; the racism of her unit's white commanding officer; and the harassment she endures from her fellow soldiers, who find her self-protective modesty unnatural. She's also secretly attracted to her fair-minded sergeant. "If you don't push, you never move ahead," she notes, determining never to be unfree again. An admiring novel about a groundbreaking, mentally tough woman. Copyright 2018 Booklist Reviews.

Developed from an original screenplay that won a place in the Meryl Streep-funded Writers Lab in 2015, this novel wraps a fictional narrative around the real-life Cathy Williams, the only woman, disguised as a man, to serve with the Buffalo Soldiers following the Civil War. Born a slave to a descendant of an African Amazon queen, Cathy is liberated from a miserable Missouri tobacco farm when Gen. Philip Sheridan burns it to the ground. Requisitioned from the farm by Sheridan to become his cook's helper, she attracts the protective attention of chef Solomon, who helps her navigate the military life. When the war ends, Cathy and Solomon's plans to head West fall apart, leading her to refashion herself as a "William Cathay" so she can join the peacekeeping forces of Sgt. Levi Allbright in the cavalry. VERDICT Bird (Above the East China Sea) crafts a number of clever scenarios that build tension around Cathy's disguise as a man, creating a not-to-be-missed read for fans of historical military fiction and strong female protagonists.—Wendy W. Paige, Shelby Cty. P.L., Morristown, IN

Bird's rich historical novel (after Above the East China Sea) is a layered study of post-Civil War America from the imagined perspective of remarkable Buffalo Soldier Cathy/Cathay Williams, the first woman to serve in the legendary all-black cavalry and infantry. Mining the rich terrain of Civil War military history, the nation's western expansion and clashes with Native Americans, and the fraught issues of gender and race relations, Bird frames an epic romantic tale around Williams. It tracks her life from the time she's taken from her family as "contraband" by the Union Army in the waning days of the Civil War, to her service as a cook's aide to Gen. Philip Sheridan, to her illicit enlistment in the Army—disguised as William Cathay—and service as a rifleman with the Buffalo Soldiers cavalry. Williams, as narrator, reveals a bravado fueled by her love of dashing Yankee soldier Wager Swayne, hero-worship of Sheridan, and pride in her heritage as the granddaughter of an African queen. Bird's fast-paced, action-packed story is a bittersweet one—grand love and legacy ultimately eluded Williams—but this fearless, often heartbreaking account sheds a welcome light on an extraordinary American warrior. (Sept.)