“You’ll be swept away by the passion and power of this remarkable, trailblazing woman who risked everything to follow her own heart.” – Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author “An epic page-turner.” – Christina Baker Kline Named Best Fiction Writer in the Austin Chronicle’s “Austin’s Best 2018” Named one of Lone Star Literary Life’s “Top 20 Texas Books of 2018” The compelling, … one of Lone Star Literary Life’s “Top 20 Texas Books of 2018”
The compelling, hidden story of Cathy Williams, a former slave and the only woman to ever serve with the legendary Buffalo Soldiers.
“Here’s the first thing you need to know about Miss Cathy Williams: I am the daughter of a daughter of a queen and my mama never let me forget it.”
Though born into bondage on a “miserable tobacco farm” in Little Dixie, Missouri, Cathy Williams was never allowed to consider herself a slave. According to her mother, she was a captive, destined by her noble warrior blood to escape the enemy. Her chance at freedom presents itself with the arrival of Union general Phillip Henry “Smash ‘em Up” Sheridan, the outcast of West Point who takes the rawboned, prideful young woman into service. At war’s end, having tasted freedom, Cathy refuses to return to servitude and makes the monumental decision to disguise herself as a man and join the Army’s legendary Buffalo Soldiers.
Alone now in the ultimate man’s world, Cathy must fight not only for her survival and freedom, but she also vows to never give up on finding her mother, her little sister, and the love of the only man strong enough to win her heart. Inspired by the stunning, true story of Private Williams, this American heroine comes to vivid life in a sweeping and magnificent tale about one woman’s fight for freedom, respect and independence.
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Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen is Sarah Bird at her very best–witty, heartbreaking, and deeply honest. The carefully researched, richly imagined story of Cathy Williams is a beautiful reminder of a forgotten part of women’s history. You’ll be swept away by the passion and power of this remarkable, trailblazing woman who risked everything to follow her own heart.
An epic page-turner, Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen is the real-life story of the feisty and fearless Cathy Williams,the first woman to serve in the U.S. military. Weaving fact and fiction, Sarah Bird dances between humor and heartbreak as she takes this American heroine from forgotten to unforgettable.
Sarah Bird takes a few scant lines from history–fragments, really, the barest of bones that have come down to us of Cathy Williams, slave, freedwoman, U.S. Calvary trooper–and spins from them this magnificent imagining of a flesh-and-blood, heart-and-soul Cathy Williams who fears and loves and wants and hurts just as fiercely as any of us. This wonderful novel is as rich in the telling as Thomas Berger’s Little Big Man and Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove, but Bird is breaking new ground, staking out a whole different territory. Cathy Williams, a black woman in history; what’s been lost to time and neglect is surely regained in good measure by this brilliant, powerful novel.
You all have read the blurb by now and know that this is historical fiction about an African American woman who served in the Union Army. There are many reviews out there so I won’t go over the plot of the story.
What I liked about the book was the fact that it brought this interesting woman to light and also discussed how the Union army, after burning and pillaging southern plantations, considered some of the freed slaves as “contraband” and enlisted them to help as cooks, washers, latrine cleaners, whatever they needed done in their units. It was at the end of the Civil war that Ms. Williams decided to enlist, impersonating a man, as there were not many options or jobs available for the freed slaves.
What I didn’t like about this book was the entirely fictionalized romance between her and a Union soldier, and this is no small part of the story. In the novel her love for this soldier is what caused her to carry on under dire circumstances. Since it is fiction of course there is no reason why the author couldn’t do this but I didn’t think that so much emphasis needed to be attached to the story, can’t a woman just be strong for her own sake? Why does every strong female always have to have a male love story attached, this would have been a good story without that element.
I also thought this book portrayed the “Buffalo soldiers” in the civil war to be mostly ignorant and without pride in themselves or their service.
The Native Americans are barely described in the book even though the second half is all about the Army’s fights to rob the Indians of their land and force them onto reservations. They are also portrayed mainly as savages, slaughtering many white settlers. There is no attempt to differentiate from the many, many different tribes that were involved and how many only wanted to be left in peace on the land that was rightfully their.
While many thoroughly enjoyed this book I had to force myself to finish it. I really liked the first part of the book and her service under Sheridan but thought it went downhill after that. It was also a bit difficult to continually have to read in what is assumed to be the slave’s southern language, again I don’t know if this is based on any linguistic facts or if it is just fiction. I still gave the book a 3 star rating because it was interesting. I think it would have benefitted from more extensive editing and fact checking.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley.
I learned a lot about Buffalo Soldiers through reading this book and the story was compelling. I enjoyed it.
Great historical fiction, or just historical! Great book!
Well written book that I found informative and interesting.
Daughter of a daughter of a Queen, is a beautifully written book of historical fiction based on the life of ex-Slave Cathy Williams who served in the ranks of the legendary buffalo soldiers. The starting scenes are set during the last battles of the Civil War.
Over the course of the novel we see Cathy grow from a scared young child into a strong, determined and accomplished free woman. Cathy loses a lot but never stops loving life or seeing the good in people and looking beyond hurt and pain to help others.
Every character is thoughtfully developed, realistic and enlightening in many ways. There are moments of laughter, fear and painful sections, and lots of smiles. You will be drawn into every chapter. The author brings history to life with detailed research of food, flowers, songs, historical events and period-dialect. All in all and enjoyable read and one of my favorite books
Great book. Based on fact
Not as good as it could have been.
I loved this book! Great story as well as a history lesson.
A should read for everyone. Historical fact artfully woven into an enthralling story.
I throughly enjoyed this book. The main character is strong in spirit, knowing her heritage, and who she was and could be. She did not let the words or worse of others destroy her. Her strength of character because of who she was told was by those who raised her.
I enjoyed reading this. Man character based on a real person. Interesting take on a slave willing to support the Union and hide her gender to do that. Unique take on those times.
It is very well written and while the subject is a historical character, the author has woven a story that is plausible, interesting, and fun.
Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen by Sarah Bird is the incredible fictionalized story of the first female Buffalo Soldier, Cathy Williams. Growing up in Connecticut, I had a pretty thorough education of the history of America, however, my education did not include the history of the Buffalo Soldiers.
Cathy Williams was a slave born to a free father and an enslaved mother in Independence, Missouri. She was raised by a strong woman, whose own mother was taken as a slave from her home in Africa where she was a queen. Thus Cathy was the daughter of a daughter of a queen. Williams is the kind of woman that girls want to know and have.
When the Union army comes through the area early in the Civil War, she is taken as contraband to serve under Colonel William Benton as kitchen help. She serves until the war ends and she is given her freedom.
After seeing black men in uniforms as part of the Union army going to fight against the Native Americans in the west, Cathy decides to join disguised as a man under the pseudonym William Cathay for a three-year term and a pension once her service was over. This part of the story shows how Williams struggles to keep her identity a secret, never changing her clothes or bathing in front of her fellow soldiers and suffering the jeers and abuse from them.
Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen is an exciting, fictional story based on the life of a brave, former slave-woman who realized that she would have a future if she just took advantage of the opportunities given the black men of her time. I highly recommend this book.
I like just about anything that Sarah Bird writes.
Beautifully written and based on the actual life of a slave girl who, shortly after the end of the Civil War, joins the Buffalo Soldiers and serves with them in the American South.
This is astonishingly good. So good it makes me want to give up writing now because I will never write a novel this good. The protagonist/narrator is unforgettable, based on a real woman named Cathy Williams who was born into slavery, became General Philip Sheridan’s cook during the Civil War, then enlisted in the Buffalo Soldiers – as a man named William Cathay. At the beginning, Cathy’s voice seemed a touch too modern to me, but she quickly grew on me, and I was riveted all the way to the end. Bird pulls it off with panache, and Cathy’s remarkable life justifies Bird’s choices. Truly great historical fiction can take familiar settings and make them seem brand new, which is exactly what happens here as we see slavery, the Civil War, and the American West through Cathy’s eyes. Highly, highly recommended, especially in audiobook format, not only for Bahni Turpin’s always-stellar narration but for the half-hour interview with the author at the end. The forty-year saga of how Bird came to write this book is as amazing as the novel itself.
This is a beautifully written book of historical fiction with starting chapters set during the last battles of the Civil War. Based on the real life of a female ex-slave, her familial bonds, oral family history, and her disguise as a nan to fight in the war. The well-developed characters are warm, believable and inviting. You will laugh, smile and be drawn into every Chapter. The narrator (Bahni Turpin) does a beautiful job of bringing the listener into the story. The author brings history to life with well researched, flowers, songs, and period dialect. This book is an excellent read, and it has become one of my all-time favorite books. I highly recommend this book to lovers of history, genealogy and female heroes.