Beth Anderson, Children's Writer

Women’s History Month bonus!

COVER REVEAL!

The gorgeous and creative cover for CLOAKED IN COURAGE: UNCOVERING DEBORAH SAMPSON, PATRIOT SOLDIER is out in the world!

Yes! Another revolutionary woman! REVOLUTIONARY PRUDENCE WRIGHT (released 2/1/22) is set at the opening of the American Revolution, and Deborah Sampson’s story takes place during the last 2 years of the war.

I discovered Deborah Sampson’s story a few years ago and considered it briefly. But I put it aside, unsure if it was a story I felt compelled to tell. Then she popped up in the news when an old diary was found that referenced her. This time I dug in deeper, more intent on finding the person inside the history.

Just like all of us, Deborah Sampson was complicated. She was “bound out” at age five when her mother couldn’t care for her, essentially becoming an indentured servant in a series of households. She did the work of girls and women, of boys and men, and educated herself, too. Once free of her obligation, she established herself as a “masterless woman,” free to make her own decisions. She worked as a teacher and weaver; she witnessed the ongoing the war and men enlisting. Aware of her own capableness and longing for a wider world, she enlisted in the Continental Army—truly a revolutionary woman! 

In Sampson’s story, I saw a person “bound” to hardship who discovered the “pieces of self” that would allow her to break free of tradition and choose her own path. Writing her story was a challenge. Much of the research is tainted by falsehoods from a biographer who shaped her story to fit his ideas of a heroine. Unable to find definitive answers to all my questions, I told the most verifiable version of her story I could. And then, illustrator Anne Lambelet brought style, beauty, and a special vibrancy to the story. 

Without further ado, we share the cover! CLOAKED IN COURAGE: UNCOVERING DEBORAH SAMPSON, PATRIOT SOLDIER is now available for presale orders at booksellers everywhere!