"Jennie was an Irish immigrant to to the United States in the early 1960's. She and her brother Tom were orphans. Jennie began to wear pants in Ireland in order to work as a shepherd. She continues to do this after she and her brother make there way to Queens, New York, so that she can get better paying work as a cashier.
Jennie is forced to leave her kind employer in Queens when Tom, out of jealousy betrays the fact that she is acutually a girl. She works on a farm for 2 years under the name Albert Cashier, and joins a friend in responding to recruitment for the Union army. She feels loyal to her new country, and also wishes to make some money.
Jennie has to work hard to conceal that she is a woman. She becomes good friends with Frank Moore, a former schoolteacher. They become close, and he suspects the truth but she is too afraid to be fully honest. Her regiment participates in the seige and capture of Vicksburg which took place over 18 months, and the peaceful seige of Natchez. Battles of Bryson's Crossroads, and seige of Fort Spanish are also described. She also works on the clean up of Camp Douglas, a POW prison on the south side of Chicago where at least 8,000 confederates died.
Jennie maintains her disguise for over 50 years. The fate of her relationship with Frank Moore, and her life after war and recovery are described in the concluding chapters."
Susan Coffey, Resident Scholar
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Review Analysis of My Last Skirt
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book descript. of violence and chases - 20% Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 10% Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 60% How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
Time/era of story:
- american civil war period
War Thriller
Yes
Armed Forces:
- Army
Specific to
- Civil War
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- infantry soldier
Age:
- a teen
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How much violence does he/she use?
- just the right amount
Ethnicity/Race
- Swiss
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- a teen
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a little/some
Motive of antagonist
- jealousy
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Deep South
Europe
Yes
European country:
- Ireland
Prairie?
Yes
Misc setting
- fort/military installation
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths?
- hundreds or more
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
