by Lois Leveen
Originally published in On Hazardous Service: Scouts and Spies of the North and South, William Gilmore Beymer, Harper & Brothers Publishers: 1912
The food Mary describes serving or eating adds to the sense of history. How did you choose which dishes to include?
One of my high school teachers used to write “B.S.” on our papers—which he always claimed meant “be specific.” It’s great advice for an author. Don’t tell me the character had lunch. Tell me exactly what she ate, and how it tasted. That really puts the reader in the story. Some of the most fun I had was researching nineteenth-century “receipts,” as recipes were called, both for food and for medical home-remedies from the era. It was very edifying, although knowing how to hash a calf’s head or fricassee calf’s feet is not information I hope to draw on anytime soon. Here are a few sample recipes for dishes mentioned in The Secrets of Mary Bowser. Maybe you can see why Mary never wanted to learn how to cook.
From The Virginia Housewife: Or, Methodical Cook
by Mrs. Mary Randolph
1838
To Harrico Mutton
Take the nicest part of the rack, divide it into chops, and with one bone in each beat them flat; sprinkle salt and pepper on them, and broil them nicely; make a rich gravy out of the inferior parts, season it well with pepper, a little spice, and any kind of catsup you choose; when sufficiently done, strain it, and thicken it with butter and brown flour, have some carrots and turnips cut into small dice and boiled till tender, put them in the gravy, lay the chops in, and stew them for fifteen minutes; serve them up garnished with green pickle.
To Roast Woodcocks or Snipes
Pluck, but do not draw them, put them on a small spit, dredge, and baste them well with lard, toast a few slices of bread, put them on a clean plate, and set it under the birds while they are roasting; if the fire be good, they will take about ten minutes; when you take them from the spit, lay them upon the toasts on the dish, pour melted butter round them, and serve them up.
Cabbage Pudding
Get a fine head of cabbage, not too large; pour boiling water on it, and cover it till you can turn the leaves back, which you must do carefully; take some of those in the middle of the head off, chop them fine, and mix them with rich forcemeat; put this in, and replace the leaves to confine the stuffing—tie it in a cloth, and boil it—serve it up whole, with a little melted butter in the dish.
Forcemeat
Take half a pound of veal, and half a pound of suet cut fine, and beat in a marble mortar or wooden bowl; add a few sweet herbs shredded fine, a little mace pounded fine, a small nutmeg grated, a little lemon peel, some pepper and salt, and the yolks of two eggs; mix them well together and make them into balls and long pieces—then roll them in flour, and fry them brown.
The discerning reader will note that forcemeat is used in a variety of Mrs. Randolph’s other recipes: “To Dress Turtle,” “Veal Olives,” “Calf’s Heart, a Nice Dish,” “To Barbecue Shote,” “To Make Sturgeon Cutlets,” “To Boil a Turkey with Oyster Sauce,” and to prepare every vegetable from eggplant to pumpkin.
Did you ever try any of the recipes out?
Definitely not. Many of them sound pretty unappealing—I would not recommend readers whip any of these up to serve at your next book-group meeting.
I used other sources to understand what it must have been like to live in an era when “cures” could do as much harm as the disease. Wives and mothers were often expected to collect the ingredients and distill these “medicines” themselves. Here are the recipes that I consulted when Mary wanted to bring her father some treatment for his rheumatism. You have to wonder when you see one remedy recommended to treat an incredible range of different ailments—when in fact it may not have helped with any of them.
From The Family Nurse
by Mrs. Child,
author of the American Frugal Housewife
1837
Cajuput Oil
Highly stimulating and penetrating, producing heat, and sometimes profuse perspiration. Given for palsy, chronic rheumatism, and spasmodic affections of the stomach and bowels, not accompanied with inflammation. Dose from one to five drops on sugar, or with some liquid. Mixed with an equal portion of olive oil, it is a good liniment for gout and rheumatism. Its most remarkable effect is in curing the toothache: from whatever cause the pain may arise, a few drops on cotton, placed in the cavity of the tooth, or even around the gums, are generally sure to give relief. It occasions smart pain for an instant.
Horse Radish
The root promotes appetite and digestion. As an active stimulant, it is used both externally and internally for palsy and chronic rheumatism. As a diuretic, it is employed in dropsical disorders, particularly when the digestive powers are weak. Highly esteemed in scorbutic affections. Half a drachm or more may be taken, grated or sliced. A syrup made of it is good for a hoarse cold. Boiled in milk, it is said to be a good wash to remove tan and freckles. The leaves are a good application for rheumatic pains. They often relieve the toothache, but if kept on the face too long, will produce a blister. Bound on the feet, they are excellent for the headache and for colds attended with feverish symptoms.
Turpentine
Oil of turpentine irritates and inflames the skin. Used as a liniment in rheumatic and paralytic affections. In mild cases it should be diluted with olive oil; and some constitutions cannot bear it even in this softened state. Mixed with some mild oil, and put into the ear on cotton, said to be good for deafness arising from a deficient or unhealthy secretion of wax. Much recommended for burns and scalds; put on as soon as possible, on lint, or linen rags, being careful not to touch the sound flesh; remove, as soon as the inflammation subsides. Dr. Dewees says, he prescribed, for tapeworms, an ounce of spirits of turpentine mixed with an ounce of castor oil, to be taken once a week, for three weeks. The medicine operated powerfully, and had the desired effect. Spirits of turpentine is excellent to bathe chilblains. Mixed with equal portions of spirits of wine, and applied with a feather, it is said to be good for St. Anthony’s fire. Care should be taken not to touch the eyes.
The Family Nurse even recommends using spirits of turpentine to “bathe the loins, and seat of the kidneys” to cure children of “involuntary discharges of urine”! As for Mary’s father, based on the advice in The Family Nurse, I decided to have her bring him prickly ash (“Very highly recommended for chronic rheumatism. A decoction is made with an ounce of the bark boiled in a quart of water; a pint may be taken in the course of the day”), which he complained was pretty awful to take.
All in all, I think it’s probably far more pleasant to read about this era than to have lived in it.
Acknowledgments
I wish I were clever enough to craft these acknowledgments so they could be sung to the tune of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” as I once vowed to do. But having benefited from the support of so many people and institutions, the closest I can come is Glory, glory, hallelujah, my thanks go marching on …
Michele Jaffe told me to write this book. She, Rosemary Weatherston, Nan Cohen, Leslie Bienen, Molly Gloss, Stephanie Von Hirschberg, and Willa Rabinovitch read initial versions of some or all of the chapters, exhibiting great patience for my early efforts and keen insights on what could be improved. Wonderful faculty at Harvard, USC, and UCLA—Werner Sollors, Joe Boone, Alice Gambrell, Tania Modleski, Val Smith, Richard Yarborough, and Martha Banta—taught me to take care as well as delight in my research, my writing, and my thinking about American literature and culture; although this is not the book either they or I thought they were training me to write, nevertheless it grew out of what I learned from them. David Garrett and Judy Stone kindly let me impose on their access to university collections. Ben Metcalf, having spent an awful lot of years ensconced first in Virginia and then in the heart of American letters, encouraged my audacity in declaring myself a novelist of Richmond—he has no idea how much his confidence in me made me believe I could really pull this off.
&
nbsp; Portland, Oregon, provides many riches, chief among which are the greatest public library system in the United States and Powell’s bookstore, invaluable resources for my research. (Vote for your library bonds and support your local bookstores, for what they give to the community is far greater than dollars.) I drew on many scholarly articles and books to bring accuracy to my telling of Mary Bowser’s tale, and I salute all the researchers whose diligence enables us to understand the nuances of American history. A Ruby Fellowship and other faculty support from Reed College enabled me to travel to a number of historical sites, including the Gray House, now better known as the Museum of the Confederacy. My students at UCLA, Reed, and in the many Delve seminars that I have the great fortune to lead throughout Portland, have reminded me time and again of the power and pleasure that literature has for its readers. Paulann Petersen and Peter Sears offered models of grace and humor as well as lessons in precision and revision that brought touches of poetry to my prose. Ariel Gore was an exemplum of how to become a famous writer before either of us was anywhere near dead. Bruce, Audrey Jane, “Stinkin’ Lincoln,” and Isabelle “the Mug” frequently persuaded me to spend just a few more minutes, which somehow morphed into many long hours, writing and revising. Friends too numerous to mention put up with all manner of exuberance, churlishness, and absences, depending on precisely where I was in the process; I am grateful to them all, and especially to Amy Bokser and Brenda Pitts, whose e-mails sustain me when visits are too few and far between. And John Melville Bishop made me look good, even without any leopard print.
From our very first phone conversation, I knew I was exceedingly lucky to have my wonderful agent Laney Katz Becker. She pushed me to make the manuscript stronger and stronger still, and she shepherded me with wit and wisdom through every step of turning it into the book you (or your ereader) now hold. Laney and her colleagues at Markson Thoma believed in my novel and gave their all to bring it to readers around the world. I am deeply grateful to work with Jennifer Brehl, Laurie Chittenden, and Emily Krump, three exceptional editors at William Morrow, as well as their wonderful colleagues, particularly Laurie Connors, Trish Daly, and Jean Marie Kelly. Suzie Doore “across the pond” at Hodder & Stoughton has also been an astute editor and astounding champion of this book.
As always, my deepest gratitude goes to my best reader, best ally, and best friend, Chuck Barnes, who fell in love with me in the twentieth century, puts up with me in the twenty-first century, and indulges the many hours I spend obsessing about the nineteenth century.
About the Author
LOIS LEVEEN earned degrees in history and literature from Harvard University, the University of Southern California, and UCLA. A former faculty member at UCLA and Reed College in Portland, Oregon, she gives talks nationally and internationally on American history, literature, and culture, with special emphasis on race. She is a regular contributor to “Disunion,” the New York Times’ ongoing coverage of the sesquicentennial of the Civil War. Her poetry, short humor pieces, and scholarly essays have appeared in many publications and on National Public Radio. She lives in a bright green house in Portland, Oregon, with a very charming Newfoundlander. The Secrets of Mary Bowser is her first novel.
www.loisleveen.com
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Advance Praise for
The Secrets of Mary Bowser
“Masterfully written, The Secrets of Mary Bowser shines a new light onto our country’s darkest history. Balancing fire and grace, the story of Mary Bowser is an ethical journey we won’t soon forget, one that takes us from hatred to courage to love.”
—Brunonia Barry, bestselling author of
The Lace Reader and The Map of True Places
“The Secrets of Mary Bowser is a good old-fashioned historical novel packed with drama, intrigue, love, loss, and most of all, the resilience of a remarkable heroine who forges her own destiny from the first page. What a treat!”
—Kelly O’Connor McNees, author of
The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott
“Lois Leveen has given us a new hero, Mary Bowser—a slave turned spy for the Union army. Told with clarity, confidence, and courage, The Secrets of Mary Bowser illuminates an untold and important story about slavery, the Civil War, and the role of women in achieving emancipation. A riveting and powerful book.”
—Naseem Rakha, author of
The Crying Tree
Credits
Cover design by Mumtaz Mustafa
Cover photograph © by Ilona Wellmann
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity, and are used fictitiously. All other characters, and all incidents and dialogue, are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real.
P.S.™ is a trademark of HarperCollins Publishers.
THE SECRETS OF MARY BOWSER. Copyright © 2012 by Lois Leveen. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
FIRST EDITION
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Epub Edition © MAY 2012 ISBN: 9780062107916
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1. Ernest B. Ferguson, Ashes of Glory: Richmond at War (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996), 230.
2. David Ryan, ed., A Yankee Spy in Richmond: The Civil War Diary of ‘Crazy Bet’ Van Lew (Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 1996), 94.
3. “Recollections of Thomas McNiven and His Activities in Richmond During the American Civil War,” Archives Division, Virginia State Library.
4. Elizabeth Varon, Southern Lady, Yankee Spy: The True Story of Elizabeth Van Lew, A Union Agent in the Heart of the Confederacy (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003).