Conspiracy of Knaves
By Dee Brown
1987
First Published
3.38
Average Rating
392
Number of Pages
A fictionalized account of undercover activities during the Civil War, Conspiracy of Knaves is the love story of Belle Rutledge, an actress turned double agent, and Charley Heywood, a dashing Confederate major working to support the Copperheads (northerners who sympathized with the south). The story is loosely based upon actual events later referred to as the ``Chicago Conspiracy,'' an attempt to free Rebel soldiers held captive in Chicago and ultimately to force the Northwest Territories out of the Union. Belle is an independent, amoral young woman seeking to survive the war in style. The constant about-faces required of her as a double agent (assigned the responsibility of spying upon a man she loves) give the story a dramatic tension that even indifferent readers will have difficulty resisting. Belle's story is bound to interest young adults who love suspense and have romance in their souls.
Avg Rating
3.38
Number of Ratings
42
5 STARS
14%
4 STARS
36%
3 STARS
29%
2 STARS
17%
1 STARS
5%
goodreads
Author
Dee Brown
Author · 26 books
Dorris Alexander “Dee” Brown (1908–2002) was a celebrated author of both fiction and nonfiction, whose classic study Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is widely credited with exposing the systematic destruction of American Indian tribes to a world audience. Brown was born in Louisiana and grew up in Arkansas. He worked as a reporter and a printer before enrolling at Arkansas State Teachers College, where he met his future wife, Sally Stroud. He later earned two degrees in library science, and worked as a librarian while beginning his career as a writer. He went on to research and write more than thirty books, often centered on frontier history or overlooked moments of the Civil War. Brown continued writing until his death in 2002.
