Matthew Stephens

Amazon Description: On a hot June afternoon, in 1750, a young soldier named James Gray made an announcement that shocked a London tavern crowd into silence. He declared, 'James Gray will cast his skin like a snake and become a new creature. In a word, gentlemen, I am as much a woman as my mother ever was and my real name is Hannah Snell!' And so began the public life of Britain's most famous female soldier. In 1750, Hannah Snell captivated London theatre audiences with tales of her disguise as a man. She told them of her enlistment in the marines and her journey to India, where she fought in the siege of Pondicherry and was severely wounded. Managing to conceal her sex, she returned to London and broke the news of her adventures. Two sell-out editions of her biography were published in 1750 and her portrait was available on every street corner. Later that year, the Royal Chelsea Hospital granted her a lifetime army pension.

From the moment Hannah Snell revealed her secret, authors, journalists and playwrights have written their version of this extraordinary woman's story. While some have accused Snell of being a charlatan, others have believed her every word. For the first time, Matthew Stephens has looked behind the myths and reveals an intriguing tale of bravery and deceit and has discovered previously unknown archival material in his quest to test a narrative carefully constructed by Hannah’s publisher, the notorious Robert Walker. Stephens not only follows Hannah on her journey to India and back, but for the first time he traces her theatrical appearances in London and the provinces.