Sunday 2 September 2018

#BlogTour Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen Sarah Bird @StMartinsPress @sarahbirdwriter

Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen by Sarah Bird
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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 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 means of deliverance is 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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I was thrilled to get the chance to read DAUGHTER OF A DAUGHTER OF A QUEEN. I was also amazed when I first heard about the book that it's based on a real story. Isn't it just amazing to learn that a former slave, a young girl served with the legendary Buffalo Soldiers?

Part of the story that really captured my interested was Cathy's African inheritance. The knowledge past down from her grandmother to her mother and finally to Cathy. As she Cathy said in the book, she was her mother's African child, while Cathy sister Clemmie was her American child. One a warrior child the other one more dainty (still tough). This book is not for the faint of heart. It's a bloody hard tale about a woman trying to pass for a man. And all through the book does she have to try to hide from everyone that she is a woman. And there are always eyes on her. She has her enemies and her fate is sealed if they ever find out the truth.

However, there are also moments of sweetness in the book. Even love. Although it really feels like Cathy has to fight for every scrap of happiness that easily could be taken from her. Loving a fellow soldier while she is passing for a man is both frustrating and dangerous for her.

Life as a soldier is not at all that Cathy imagined when she signed up. She's constantly at risk of being discovered and there are several moments in the book that I thought that she's done for it. How it all ends? Well, you have to find a copy of DAUGHTER OF A DAUGHTER OF A QUEEN and read it to find out. I will tell you this; I did get surprised at the end. Fabulous ending!

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About the Author:


SARAH BIRD’s previous novel, Above the East China Sea, was long-listed for the Dublin International Literary Award. Sarah has been selected for the Meryl Streep Screenwriting Lab, the B&N Discover Great Writers program, NPR's Moth Radio series, the Texas Literary Hall of Fame, and New York Libraries Books to Remember list. She first heard Cathy Williams' story in the late seventies while researching African-American rodeos.

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