The Union Spymistress with Libby McNamee

Local author Libby McNamee returns to Book People to discuss her newest novel The Union Spymistress.

Libby will be in conversation with The History Mom Jayda Justus on Tuesday, July 29th at 6 PM.

When America shatters during the Civil War, Richmond socialite Elizabeth Van Lew forms a spy ring to save our embattled Union.

As an elite member of Richmond society, abolitionist Elizabeth Van Lew delivers food to starving Union prisoners at Libby Prison, risking her status and her life. She soon exchanges coded messages, coordinates daring escapes, hides fugitives in her mansion, and smuggles them up North.
Drawing on her web of contacts at every level, Miss Van Lew creates the Richmond Underground, a secret network bolstering the Union. Then she infiltrates Confederate President Jefferson Davis’s home through her servant, Mary Jane, who reports on the inner workings of the Confederacy. Using a cipher, she shares troop movements and military intelligence with Union Generals and ultimately provides daily updates to General Grant.
As grisly battles rage in trenches nearby, the weakened Confederates become suspicious of her every move. If she cannot save herself from persecution, how can she help to preserve America and end slavery?

Libby McNamee is a speaker, lawyer, and award-winning author of  “Susanna’s Midnight Ride: The Girl Who Won the Revolutionary War” and “Dolley Madison and the War of 1812: America’s First Lady,” as well as their Study Guides. She is also Co-Editor of “The Epic Story of 1776” and “The Epic Story of 1777-1779.” She loves learning about American history and exploring historical sites.

A native of Boston, Libby lives with her husband in their empty nest in Midlothian, Virginia, with their son at college. She is a graduate of Georgetown University and Catholic University School of Law. 
In addition to practicing law in firms and corporations, she was a major in the U.S. Army JAG Corps, serving in South Korea, Washington State, Bosnia, and Germany.

Jayda Justus is the creator/writer of the blog, The History Mom (https://thehistorymom.com/), where she provides detailed reviews of US and European historical sites for families with corresponding book recommendations. She loves interacting with the bookish world on Instagram @thehistorymom and has appeared as a guest on several podcasts, blogs, and media outlets. Her favorite genres to read are historical fiction and nonfiction, but she also loves contemporary and historical romance and women’s fiction. Hailing from the historic town of Kings Mountain, North Carolina, she is a former legislative director for a Member of Congress and now lives in Richmond, Virginia with her family where she spends her days working on her first novel.