When one thinks of the American Civil War, the common image in our minds is of dirty nineteenth century Americans firing muskets in bloody battlefields and carrying worn flags.
But does anyone ever think about the women of the civil war, especially the slave women?
Dr. Lois Leveen, of Portland, did to the impressive extent that she wrote “The Secrets of Mary Bowser,” published in 2012.
Nicholson Library hosted Leveen for a lecture and reading of her novel on Oct. 3.
Already an author of several academic publications, as a professor, Leveen was thrilled of the opportunity to write a novel that would be read by more than just academics.
“The Secrets of Mary Bowser” tells the story of a slave woman that was freed and sent north to receive and education, only to make the choice to return to the southern states in order to become a spy for the union.
Posing as a slave, Bowser worked in the confederate white house for Jefferson Davis and used her position and extraordinary memory, to deliver crucial secrets back to the union.
Unfortunately, Mary Bowser, despite her incredible story, had very little information saved about her. Leveen saw this as an opportunity to create characters that she believed their inspirations would be proud of.
“There was no conclusive evidence about Mary’s family, so I got to invent who they are,” Leveen said.
Leveen’s novel forced her readers to think about slavery, not just about the concept, but about what being a slave actually meant and what it must have been like.
Slaves lived and worked in more places than just large plantations in the Deep South, but also in urban cities, often as skilled laborers, a fact that Leveen pointed out in her lecture.
“Slave people were individuals. They were different from one another… I want people to think about being a slave, about the differences between urban slaves and plantation slaves,” Leveen said.
What must it have been like to have to be forced to leave one’s family in order to obtain freedom? Freedom, before the end of the civil war, was to be taken at the cost of solidarity.
Mary accepted this cost, which might have led to the accepted costs of the risks she took when returning to the south as a spy.
“One of the things that I realized while writing the novel is that being a slave is great training for being a spy… You are told that you are one thing, property, while you know you are another, human,” Leveen said.
Leveen’s telling of Mary Bowser’s heroic story is an inspirational blend of fiction and history.
Paige Jurgensen / Columnist Paige
Jurgensen can be reached at [email protected]
Photo courtesy of loisleveen.com
Lois Leveen, an author from Oregon, held a book reading and discussion on her book “The Secrets of Mary Bowser” on Oct. 3 in Nicholson Library. The book’s plot takes place during the Civil War, which was also during a time of slavery in the U.S. The novel’s main character features a slave woman.
