Details

List Price: $14.95
Paperback: 236 pages
ISBN: 9780984077380
Dimensions: 6″x9″
Weight: 0.0778 lb
Genre: Historical; Autobiography; War; Non-fiction

The Story

A Genteel Spy was far and away the most unique project I had a hand in editing. It’s a narrative memoir by Betsey Royce. Betsey was a 7-year-old girl when the American Civil War erupted in her home town of Franklin, Tenn. Her father joins General Hood’s army just before her mother is exiled from Franklin for spying for the Confederacy. Betsey wrote the memoir ten years later. Long after Betsey’s life, her granddaughter Judith Riker Damon compiled and edited the manuscript. Judith is an artist, so she also created some brilliant illustratations of some of the key points in Betsey’s story.

My work on this project fell mostly in the realm of fixing grammar, spelling, and mechanics. One thing no one wanted to do was update Bestey’s voice and thus lose the authenticity of the work. The result is a fascinating look at civilian life in the American South during the Civil War.

Available from Two Peas Publishing.