Jo Ann's Reviews > The Secrets of Mary Bowser

This book was recommended to me by a delightful young docent when I toured a Civil War home in Richmond, Virginia this past summer...and I'm so glad she did. I really can't decide if I partly loved this book because of just having seen so many of the places this book refers to, or whether I'd have loved it this much anyway. I had read The Spymistress, by Jennifer Chiaverini, a historical fiction novel about Elizabeth Van Lew, who was a spy for Lincoln's Union troops during the War. And, this real person owned and freed and paid for the Northern education of one of her slaves, Mary Bowser, who was bright, and who had a photographic memory. That intelligence and memory led her to return from Philadelphia to work and spy in "The Gray House," the home of Jefferson Davis, then President of The Confederate States. Mary put on the demeanor of a rather slow, less-than-intelligent slave, and was able to clean Davis's office (and recall strategies of war documents), listen to conversations from the children's nursery next to the President's office, or learn key facts when serving Davis and his generals at dinner. No one suspected Mary, who then used codes to alert the Union side. Between Mary Bowser and Elizabeth Van Lew, I wonder how many key battles would have been altered, as well as the history of our country. We don't actually have a great deal of information about Mary, and all traces of her are lost after the Civil War, though we know about her family and marriage, her life with the Van Lews, etc. Therefore, Leveen used surviving papers and bits of family history to construct the life of this courageous and dedicated young woman. I'm glad The Gray House survived and we can tour it, and I'm saddened that the Van Lew home was burned by angry Richmond folk who were incensed that Elizabeth and Mary were so dedicated to the Union cause and abolishing slavery. I was fortunate in Richmond to have a well informed tour guide, too, who knew about these women and their histories...and this book was icing on the cake!