Nadezhda Durova was born in 1783. Her father was a Russian general, and her mother came from a wealthy family. Unfortunately, her mother did not like her and was abusive to her as a child. Once, she even threw her out the window of a moving carriage. Her father tended to her with help from his soldiers, who taught her all manner of military things. She did wind up married, but nothing about her husband is mentioned in this book. Apparently, she did not find him or her marriage very impressive. She did, however, love military life. She posed as a male and participated in many military engagements. She saved the lives of two compatriots, loved weapons, and was apparently quite skilled.

I picked this book up on a whim, because I was looking at books on Napoleon. It was a dollar, and I thought that was a decent price, which I stand behind. This painted a really detailed picture of what life in the Russian military during this era was like. I enjoyed the book well enough.