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Penguin Random House

Masquerade: The Life and Times of Deborah Sampson, Continental Soldier

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Description

In Masquerade, Alfred F. Young scrapes through layers of fiction and myth to uncover the story of Deborah Sampson, a Massachusetts woman who passed as a man and fought as a soldier for seventeen months toward the end of the American Revolution. Deborah Sampson was not the only woman to pose as a male and fight in the war, but she was certainly one of the most successful and celebrated. She managed to fight in combat and earn the respect of her officers and peers, and in later years she toured the country lecturing about her experiences and was partially successful in obtaining veterans’ benefits. Her full story, however, was buried underneath exaggeration and myth (some of which she may have created herself), becoming another sort of masquerade. Young takes the reader with him through his painstaking efforts to reveal the real Deborah Sampson in a work of history that is as spellbinding as the best detective fiction. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group


Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 8, 2005


Edition ‏ : ‎ Reprint


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Print length ‏ : ‎ 432 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0679761853


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 53


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.1 ounces


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.2 x 0.87 x 7.99 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #684,143 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #1,231 in General Gender Studies #1,445 in U.S. Revolution & Founding History #2,990 in Women in History


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • Recommended
Format: Paperback
This is a review of the book, “Masquerade”, by Alfred F. Young. What a great book about Deborah Sampson and her role with the U.S. Army. The author did a lot of research and there are many times where he’d write “probably” or “more than likely” or words like that. What that meant to me was that the author wasn’t entirely sure of a statement made – he didn’t try to “smoke screen” the reader. That alone gained my respect! As to Deborah Sampson (or is it Samson?), her masquerade lasted months and the things she did to not be found out as a female is amazing. Then, some of the things she did – things that her male counterparts struggled with – is admirable. Even after Deborah was discovered to be a female and honorably discharged from the U.S. Army, she spent the rest of her life, and with many petitions, to get her backpay and/or a pension. With every attempt she was denied. Why? Because Deborah was a woman. Being prior military, I’d take a battalion of Deborah Sampsons over the drunken, sex-crazed, and irresponsible heathens she fought with - who got their backpay and/or pensions. Her journey, and some of the things she did to fight for the freedom of this country, should not go unnoticed. She is not alone either – there were many women who passed as a man and/or fought for this country – and the author mentions them. He doesn’t dwell on these other women (and there are many); not because of their actions, but he stays with the subject of this book – Deborah Sampson. If you want to learn more of how women, specifically Deborah Sampson, fought honorably for this country, and how some masqueraded as men to join the U.S. Army – then get this book. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2026 by gkhelland
    • Great Deborah Samson book!
Format: Hardcover
Well written information about Deborah Samson, a Revolutionary War heroine.
Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2017 by Jane W
    • Well researched interesting biography
Format: Hardcover
Excellent book for anyone who is interested in a woman of Revolutionary War times who is mentioned in student history books and for whom there has been very little research previously published. I found Youngs discussion of how he arrived at his conclusions very interesting and I am not a history major. For someone who is not interested in that type of detail it would be easy to skim those sections and just find out about her life. It would also give people who have previously read other books or articles about Deborah Samson an opportunity to evaluate the accuracy of that material. I also would not be surprised if some of those who think they are not interested in historical research methods might find after reading the book they are more interested than they thought. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2005 by Amazon Customer
    • Well-researched biography
Format: Paperback
Fascinating history. The author does an excellent job of teasing out what is fact, what is reasonable conjecture, and what is fable in the tales of this early American figure.
Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2019 by Amazon Customer
    • Great!
Format: Paperback
I was pleaserrd and amazed to discover this was a first edition and signed by the author.😀. Thanks.
Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2021 by Beverly Keaveny
    • Too many assumptions being made
Format: Paperback
There are some very serious issues with this book that call into question the author's reliability as a researcher and a historian. They are as follows: The author insists on spelling Samson's name as "Sampson," despite clearly stating that the family spelling was "Samson." His justification is that "Sampson is the common spelling." (28) But because it is not the family's spelling, changing it is therefore inappropriate. There are an alarming number of assumptions made about all of Samson's motives as well as their relationship with their husband. Where is the evidence of Samson saying they did not have a good relationship with their husband? They didn't get divorced or have recorded children with anyone else. How can the author assume Samson's reasoning for every action of their life (from choosing churches to choosing a husband) without evidence? Why is he upset with Herman Mann for making stuff up when he is doing the same thing? We get a very detailed explanation of a dream Samson had as being nothing but sexual, when there is nothing to suggest the dream was sexual at all. This is frankly ridiculous. The author insists on calling Samson "Mrs. Gannett" for the entire last chunk of the book, erasing Samson's identity and merging it with that of their husband instead. What a disrespectful thing to do to the subject of your biographical research. Yet never once does he refer to Samson as Mr. Shurtliff during that period of their life. Apparently there is only one viable way to change one's identity to this author. The author intentionally misgenders Chevalier d'Eon and refers to her as "a French nobleman and diplomat... who for several decades had presented himself as a woman and whose true gender was a subject of intense public speculation until his death in 1810." (203) As this book was written 20 years ago I did not expect any consideration of Samson's gender identity to be included, but to see such blatant misgendering of a historical figure whose gender identity has always been quite clear in the record we have, despite "public speculation," I have no hopes this author will ever do such a discussion well. Overall, this would have been a much better book if the author had stuck to the evidence and not speculated so much. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2023 by Reader
    • great
Format: Hardcover
great, I used this book for research on a screenplay I am writing during this period about Deborah Sampson. It was very good.
Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2013 by caroline kelly
    • Five Stars
Format: Paperback
On time as advertised no issues
Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2018 by Bill McKern

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