Rebel Rose: Life of Rose O'Neal Greenhow, Confederate Spy

by Ishbel Ross

Rose O'Neal Greenhow was adept at political intrigue and often involved in scandal. During her long Washington career she knew nine Presidents and was the intimate friend and advisor of one - James Buchanan. But it was the great South Carolina statesman John C. Calhoun who shaped her political philosophy and influenced her to work heart and soul for the Confederacy.

Genres: Civil War, Biography, History, Biography Memoir

244 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1954

About the author

Ishbel Ross, journalist and biographer, spent her childhood in the Highlands of Scotland, living only ten miles from industrialist Andrew Carnegie's castle. Later in life she recalled her childhood in terms of watching the comings and goings of Carnegie's famous guests and reading classic literature.

In 1916, Ross left Scotland and moved to Canada where she landed a filing job at the Toronto Daily News. Ross, who would later be considered "New York's best woman reporter," needed no more than six weeks to move up the newspaper's ranks from clerical worker to reporter with a front-page headline and a byline to her credit, after getting the scoop on Emmeline Pankhurst's visit to Canada.

In 1919, she joined the New York Tribune (later the Herald Tribune). While covering the infamous Stillman divorce, she met and fell in love with Bruce Rae, who was reporting on the case for the New York Times. The two married in Montreal in 1922 and had one daughter. After their marriage Ross and Rae continued working for rival newspapers and frequently covered the same stories. The couple made a point of balancing high professional standards and married life.

In 1932 Ross published her first novel, Promenade Deck. Encouraged by its success, Ross left the Tribune to pursue a career as a novelist. Although Ross wrote four more novels, her work as a biographer ultimately overshadowed her career as a novelist. Ross first turned to biography when Stanley Walker, city editor at the Tribune, suggested that she write a book about famous women journalists. Her Ladies of the Press traced women's roles in print journalism, covering the range from stunt reporters and "sob sisters" to social crusaders, foreign correspondents, and editors in chief.

Ross went on to complete eighteen more works of nonfiction, most of which considered the lives of famous American women. Ross was drawn to women who led unconventional lives. She wrote about women who had exciting careers, such as physician Elizabeth Blackwell; the founder of the American Red Cross, Clara Barton; and Confederate spy Rose O'Neal Greenhow.

Ross emphasized the importance and complexity of women's lives. By achieving success as a journalist
and biographer, by balancing marriage and professional ambition, Ross herself led a life much like those she deemed worthy of study.

- excerpted from American National Biography, referenced at: http://h-net.msu.edu/cgi-bin/logbrows...

Reviews

[Laura Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book about an interesting woman. I'd like to read Rose's memoirs if they are still in print, even though I'll have to keep in mind they will be written with a very sympathetically southern bent.

[Ashley Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading about Rose’s life. She had done everything that women at the time did not do. Rose was very brave and adventurous!

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is quite clearly written in the 1950s. There's a lot of colloquial word usage and choices, and romanticising of the cause of the South. This is a dense tome, and there's a lot of name dropping which if you're unfamiliar with the antebellum Washington DC scene may come as really difficult to understand. It's an interesting look at source material.

I think this only gets 3.5 stars for accessibility. There are several names that were dropped that I wasn't even familiar with, and it makes it difficult and unapproachable in a way. Additionally, the romanticism of Mrs Greenhow's espionage and role in the Civil War was incredibly annoying.

And finally, my sheer irriation with subsuming women's identities as their husband's name is on display here. Mrs Stephen A Douglas had a first name, it was Adele, and I would really prefer to read about Mrs Adele Douglas.

[Denielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book as a teenager since I was fascinated with the idea of a female spy in an era where women had few rights. I've reread it several times over the years. Ross does a good job of telling the story of Rose's life from her early childhood to her marriage with Robert Greenhow to her role as spy in the Civil War. Ross blends her own words with the words of Greenhow and others around here to tell an intriguing tale of a woman who will go to any length to support a cause she believes in.

[Sara · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this biography boring and hard to follow. Something about the way it was written just did not hold my attention--I kept finding my mind wandering mid-sentence. The ending was also way too abrupt, especially considering the meandering way the read of the book was written.

[Elzza]

so far it's really hard to follow, and seems to assume a certain familiarity w/ history and it's players in and around the civil war. but so long as i declare that i don't care about the specifics, which senator's wife was who and did what previously, it does give an interesting flavour of that era

[Mark Stephenson · Rating 3 out of 5]

An account of the life of the woman confederate spy. Her espionage helped defeat the Federal Army at the 1st Battle of Manassas.

[Anna Stiglbauer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A female Secesh spy?! Yes please!!