The Blue and the Gray Undercover: All New Civil War Spy Adventures

By Ed Gorman

Book Overview

Battles were won with bullets and sabers on the battlefields of the War Between the States, for sure. But often, the outcome of those battles was affected by the heroic acts of spies--both Union and Confederate. Such heroes, unsung while they did their vital work, included those whose true stories are told in the pages of this book: - Elizabeth Van Lew: Her Richmond, Virginia, neighbors thought her eccentric--or crazy--but her odd behavior covered her activities as a spy for the Union army. - Belle Boyd: A daring Confederate spy whose charm and beauty were exceeded only by her boldness and resourcefulness in eluding Union's efforts to capture her. - Serena Freneau: A beautiful spy who seduced secrets from Union officers--even marrying one of them - Timothy Webster: A Union spy who dared to infiltrate the South's infamous "Knights of Liberty" as a double agent. Their exploits, and the other tales in this extraordinary volume, are as thrilling as any spy stories from the past or present--and many of them are true history. "The Blue and the Gray Undercover" No war is won on the battlefield alone, and the Civil War was no exception. Behind the lines, behind closed doors, in disguise, spies for both the Union and the Confederacy did what spies have always done: seek out information that will help their side get some advantage over the enemy. In the pages of this unique volume some of the most gifted storytellers of our generation write about many different spies. Editor Ed Gorman has brought together never-before-published tales of undercover work during the War Between the States by such bestselling authors as Doug Allyn, John Lutz, Brendan DuBois, Loren D. Estleman, and by other talented writers, including Janet Berliner, James H. Cobb, Bill Crider, Jane Haddam, Edward D. Hoch, Marie Jakober, Jane Lindskold, P. G. Nagle, Gary Phillips, Robert J. Randisi, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Aileen Schumacher, and Ray Vukcevich. In cities and in the wild, north and south of the Mason-Dixon line, in the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea--even in Canada--these stories capture the tension and excitement of the high-stakes risks numberless people took to help their side in the terrible war that sundered a nation. Not all the stories are based on fact, but all show people doing the kinds of things that were actually done to win the war with brains instead of bullets. The result is a fascinating look at a little-known part of our Civil War heritage.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312874871
• ISBN13: 9780312874872
• Release Date: December 2001
• Publisher: Doherty Associates, LLC, Tom
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 1.0" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

A Pleasing Change of Pace

Editor Gorman has compiled eighteen original short stories for this fairly entertaining anthology of Civil War spy stories, likely to appeal primarily to the Civil War fiction readers looking for a change of pace, or to mystery fans looking for a change of setting. Each of the authors (none of whom I've read before) contributes a story of 15-25 pages, some of which are fictional treatments of historical incidents or persons, the rest of which are straight fiction. Most of the stories are fairly basic short tales, with a reversal near the end that showcases the spy's skill or trickery. Common protagonists are bewitching and cunning women who shockingly turn out to be spies, and blacks and children who are inevitably smarter and craftier than suspected. As befits the depressing reality of the Civil War, many of the stories are rather bleak and depressing, in their setting if not always in their outcome. There are a few, however, that are a little more swashbuckling and James Bondish in their approach, such as Robert Randisi's "The Knights of Liberty", James Cobb's "Monica Van Tefflen" and the one true throwaway entry, Bill Crider's "Belle Boyd, The Rebel Spy," which is a silly treatment for a cliffhanger serial film. What each author has done well is inject obscure period details and history into their stories, with the result, that even if the story fails to entertain, it will inform. All in all, the collection strikes a fairly good balance of suspense, tragedy, horror, romance, politics, and of course, history-however, if the stories have greater impact if you read them one a day instead of all in one sitting. Another reason not to read it in one sitting is that the typeface is set incredibly small. Even for someone with young (30 year old) eyes like myself, reading it for more than 30 minutes at a time was a strain.