My Last Skirt: The Story of Jennie Hodgers, Union Soldier
Feb 2006 · Sold by HarperCollins
star
1 review
Ebook
192
Pages
family_home
Eligible
info
About this ebook
Jennie Hodgers dressed as a boy for the first time in order to help support her impoverished Irish family with a shepherd’s wages. Then her arrival in America confirmed her belief that the world offers better opportunities to young men than to young women. So Jennie maintained her outward identity as Albert Cashier, serving as a grocery clerk in Queens, New York; as a farmhand in Ohio; and as a recruit in the 95th Illinois Infantry during the Civil War. Not only did she survive three years in combat with her true identity undiscovered, she chose to continue living as Albert for nearly all of her life.
Combining careful research with vivid insight, Lynda Durrant portrays Albert Cashier as a soldier who served his adopted country and his comrades with loyalty and heroism, and Jennie Hodgers as a woman of a woman of astonishing strength, courage, and adaptability—a woman sometimes at war with her own secrets. Author’s note, bibliography.
How does a young woman survive in a world made for men, from the front lines of the Civil War to the quiet loneliness of a life built on a lie?
- A Woman Disguised as a Man: Follow Irish immigrant Jennie Hodgers as she becomes Albert Cashier, trading a life of poverty for the freedom and danger of living as a man in 19th-century America.
- American Civil War Fiction: Experience the grit and camaraderie of the 95th Illinois Infantry through Albert’s eyes, from grueling marches to the historic Siege of Vicksburg.
- A Lifelong Secret: Discover why, even after the war ended, Albert chose to live out his life as a man, guarding the truth for nearly fifty years.
- Courage and Survival: A gripping and emotional novel about the fight for identity, the meaning of bravery, and the incredible strength of a woman determined to live on her own terms.
Jennie Hodgers dressed as a boy for the first time in order to help support her impoverished Irish family with a shepherd’s wages. Then her arrival in America confirmed her belief that the world offers better opportunities to young men than to young women. So Jennie maintained her outward identit...
Discover more
Ratings and reviews
1 review
A Google user
- Flag inappropriate
I know lots of folks that now live comfortably as a man, when they started out life as a female. Now it is easier now with testosterone and surgery, but I am sure there were a few lucky "female to male" (FTM) transgender people, even back then could cross the gender line and live how they felt they should live. I am pretty sure Albert Cashier was transgender, a "female to male transsexual" as we would call him now.
Way to go Albert!
A Google user
- Flag inappropriate
The fact that HE made pants out of dresses while in the hospital shows how much his identity mattered to him. The fact that the author chose to use his birth name and gender is a slur and erasure of a trans life lived.
About the author
Lynda Durrant is the author of five well-received historical novels for Clarion, several of which have been named to state children’s choice awards lists. She lives in Bath, Ohio, with her family and a horse named Irish.
Lynda Durrant is the author of five well-received historical novels for Clarion, several of which have been named to state children’s choice awards lists. She lives in Bath, Ohio, with her family and a horse named Irish.
Rate this ebook
Tell us what you think.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
