Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen: A Novel

Sarah Bird

Sep 2018 · Sold by St. Martin's Press

About this ebook

"You'll be swept away by the passion and power of this remarkable, trailblazing woman who risked everything to follow her own heart." – Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"An epic page-turner." – Christina Baker Kline

Named Best Fiction Writer in the Austin Chronicle's "Austin's Best 2018"
Named one of Lone Star Literary Life's "Top 20 Texas Books of 2018"

The compelling, hidden story of Cathy Williams, a former slave and the only woman to ever serve with the legendary Buffalo Soldiers.

“Here’s the first thing you need to know about Miss Cathy Williams: I am the daughter of a daughter of a queen and my mama never let me forget it.”

Though born into bondage on a “miserable tobacco farm” in Little Dixie, Missouri, Cathy Williams was never allowed to consider herself a slave. According to her mother, she was a captive, destined by her noble warrior blood to escape the enemy. Her chance at freedom presents itself with the arrival of Union general Phillip Henry “Smash ‘em Up” Sheridan, the outcast of West Point who takes the rawboned, prideful young woman into service. At war’s end, having tasted freedom, Cathy refuses to return to servitude and makes the monumental decision to disguise herself as a man and join the Army’s legendary Buffalo Soldiers.

Alone now in the ultimate man’s world, Cathy must fight not only for her survival and freedom, but she also vows to never give up on finding her mother, her little sister, and the love of the only man strong enough to win her heart. Inspired by the stunning, true story of Private Williams, this American heroine comes to vivid life in a sweeping and magnificent tale about one woman’s fight for freedom, respect and independence.

Ratings and reviews

Told since childhood that she was not ‘just’ a slave, but the latest in a long-line of warrior women, destined to remember and fight against her captors, using determination and skill to fight her way to freedom. And Cathy William’s story is an intriguing one, the truth that is, although details are sparse. Yet Bird does attempt to bring some depth and not a little artistic license to the story, most of which works nicely, despite the general niggles of unease and rather stereotypical characterizations. At first, Cathy’s story is intriguing, if she is a bit too ‘openly strong willed’ to feel authentic. Personal convictions are hard elements to illustrate, but the near-flippant attitude would NOT have gone over well in the time or situation. Perhaps it was her ‘intractability’ that led her to catch the eye of Union General Sheridan, the first taste of freedom, if still in domestic service, of her young life. With the war ended, and the south having {predictably} lost everything, she’s not planning to return to ‘domestic service’, knowing that her choices are limited. So, disguising herself as a man, she heads off to join the Buffalo soldiers, a unit of black soldiers in the still segregated Union {or US} Army. There’s the general gist of the story, and an intriguing one. But there are several issues that I had with the development and progress that I feel took this book, and its potential, down several notches. First – the stereotypes, and they are glaring: each black man, woman and child encountered could have been snatched out of any southern newspaper’s reasons to justify slavery and subjugation. Ignorant, lazy, often leaning to the ‘disreputable’ edge of the spectrum, and the disrespect shown the men of the Buffalo soldiers. Many tracts and histories have been written about this unit, and those seem to have been brushed aside for artistic license and to serve the author’s vision. The Native Americans also received a brusque hand, little to no differentiation of tribe, reason or even any sort of conflict that would hint to the complexity of their social structure, beliefs, tribes or even their fight to hold onto a place in the world. Another element missed that could have brought this from meh to truly engaging and solidly relevant to the time. Lastly – the romance. I haven’t a clue why it was included but to draw in more moments to show readers another side of Cathy, but please don’t make me believe that this woman, so solidly self-sufficient, clever and determined HAD to have a man to be special and function. It just didn’t work. What Bird did do, frequently, is provide a solid person in Cathy – one who actually came to life and felt human and plausible, if not entirely historic in the book. But the use of “dialect’ in speech, the stereotypical portrayals and romance that felt ‘unneeded’ to give the story it’s oomph – I can’t actually say that I didn’t struggle to move past the first half of the book, and did so only because I hoped that the errors in direction and characterization would be sorted out I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Cathy Williams was the daughter of a daughter of a Queen. And, although she was a slave, she never thought of herself that way. She was a captive, just like her grandmother was. During the Civil War, Cathy worked as a cook’s assistant under General Sheridan, but when the war ended, she disguised herself as a male, and joined an all-black regiment, called the Buffalo Soldiers. They were charged with the mission of bringing peace and order to the West. Their assignment was to hunt down the Indians responsible for terrorizing and massacring western settlers. This is a powerful novel about a piece of history that is difficult to read about. The story is illuminating and poignant. It was enlightening to learn, how differently, Cathy was treated by her fellow soldiers, even though they had no idea that she was a female. This book is superbly written and immensely captivating. I loved how the author brought history and the characters alive, especially Cathy Williams. I enjoy reading about strong women, and Cathy Williams was extraordinary. I highly recommend this heartbreaking, and touching novel. Thank you, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley, for my advanced review copy. I absolutely loved it!

I enjoyed this read despited the stereotypes, per some of the other readers comments. I heard about Williams' story. I hope this book compels people to seek out more info about the Buffalo Soldiers and Williams.

About the author

SARAH BIRD’s previous novel, Above the East China Sea, was long-listed for the Dublin International Literary Award. Sarah has been selected for the Meryl Streep Screenwriting Lab, the B&N Discover Great Writers program, NPR's Moth Radio series, the Texas Literary Hall of Fame, and New York Libraries Books to Remember list. She first heard Cathy Williams' story in the late seventies while researching African-American rodeos.