Book Review: A Girl Called Samson
A Novel by Amy Harmon
Inspired by a true story, “A Girl Called Samson” is a fictionalize account of Revolutionary War soldier Deborah Sampson Gannett written by Amy Harmon. You read that correctly, Deborah was a soldier in the war for American independence from England. This review contains mild spoilers, which I’ve worked to keep at a minimum.
A direct descendant of Mayflower pilgrim William Bradford on her mother’s side and Myles Standish on her father’s, she was one of five (or seven, depending on the source) children born to Jonathan Sampson, Jr. and Deborah (Bradford) Sampson in Plympton, Massachusetts.
The Sampson family, despite their proud ancestral connections struggled financially, made worse when Jonathan abandoned his wife and children, forcing Deborah (Sr.) to give away and indenture her daughters and sons to ensure their survival. Deborah (Jr.) found herself serving the Thomas family, who welcomed and counted her as essentially one of their own children, all sons, while she served her contracted time. As the boys came of age, they enlisted to fight the British. Upon turning 18, Deborah was released from her servitude and works as a teacher for a time in Middleborough, Massachusetts.
A true believer in American Independence, she is determined to follow her “brothers” into military service. With some effort, Deborah eventually manages to disguise herself sufficiently to enlist, under the name Robert Shurtliff, and serve in the Continental Army. As a light infantry soldier, “he” eventually works “himself” into the position that acquaints him with the lesser-remembered General John Paterson, as well as a number of better-known Revolutionary War patriots including the commander-in-chief himself General Washington, General Henry Knox, and Polish native General Tadeusz Kościuszko.
(Although not discussed in this book, Deborah Sampson also eventually came to know Paul Revere, who would play a role petitioning Congress on her behalf in order to obtain her army pension.)
Harmon happened upon the story of Deborah Sampson and was inspired to write this fictionalized account having voraciously reading everything she could about the woman who was an American patriot. Deborah lived at a time when women lacked the independence to even walk the streets unescorted and were viewed as objects to be “treasured” and “protected,” regardless of how hard they worked in often harsh and thankless jobs.
The book includes a great deal of history and historical geography, which I knew little about myself, as well as a good many Bible versions and quotes from an historical document, the Declaration of Independence. Don’t let either of those put you off the novel, as neither proves “preachy” despite the fact that it was a reverend who helped place Deborah with the Thomas and played a key role in shaping at least her fictionalized life (possibly the real woman’s as well, I’m not entirely certain yet).
In the Author’s Notes, Harmon muses on whether or not she did Deborah Sampson justice in her fictionalized account based loosely on the patriot’s life. I, for one, believe that she did. I found it beautifully and thoughtfully written and exceptionally well organized, with a number of tender and deeply moving moments, including a couple that brought me literally to tears.
Until I learned that Sampson was a real person, I had worried that the author might be creating an anachronistic tale based on modern issues related to gender identity. I was grateful that the book was not cliché and stayed appropriately within the historical time period (from what I could tell). Narrated by Deborah herself, there are musings that make her at least an early American feminist, if not at times towards the non-binary position on the gender scale. I’ll leave you to learn what I mean by that.
As someone who has become acutely aware of the gender identity scale (and learning more each day), I appreciated the thoughts and insights Harmon shared related to Deborah’s own search for independence from the “prison” of being a woman of her time without it being about fashion commentary. I can whole-heartedly recommend this novel, and offer kudos to Harmon for her outstanding narrative.
For the record, this was one of my Amazon First Reads selection (Kindle | Paperback) one month, so I acquired it at no cost. I wanted to disclaim that despite the fact that it has in no way influenced my review. In fact, I tend to be harder on First Reads, truth be told, since they are promoted and recommended by editors to all Amazon readers. Additionally, it wasn’t recommended (by an algorithm) based on my reading history or habits.
Finally, this 405-page historical novel enabled me to check off a reading challenge prompt: Read a book about a war that was not World War I or II.
FREE BONUS READING
Save until after you read the novel
- The Woman Who Sneaked Into George Washington’s Army
Alison Leigh Cowan | New York Times (July 2, 2019) - An address delivered in 1802 in various towns in Mass., RI, and NY
Deborah Sampson Gannett | Sharon Historical Society (1802) - A Life and Character Peculiarly Distinguished: Deborah Sampson in the Revolutionary War
Ohio Memory (October 17, 2017)
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