An extraordinary true adventure story - how the bandit's daughter Mu Guiying became a great general in Ancient China ANCIENT CHINA, ONE THOUSAND YEARS AGO. It began with a duel. When General Yang wanted to get rid of a troublesome bandit, he sent his fiercest warrior: his son, Captain Zongbao. But on his way through the forest to find the outlaw, Zongbao unexpectedly encountered the bandit's teenage daughter, Mu Guiying, who challenged him to unarmed combat. And she was better. The fight launched Mu Guiying's astonishing journet from fearless outcast to the great defender of her country, as she masterminded the Chinese defence against the invading horsemen from the north. Simon Mason has written numerous books for younger readers, including The Quigleys, Moon Pie, and the YA crime thriller series featuring Garvie Smith: Running Girl, Kid Got Shot and Hey, Sherlock! He has always been fascinated by history, particularly by stories from around the world.
The remarkable true story of Margaret Anne Bulkley - aka Dr James Barry - a surgeon who lived as a man for their entire life Margaret Anne Bulkey desperately wants to be a surgeon - but only men can train as doctors. Fifty years later, Dr James Barry is famous, serving as Inspector General of Hospitals throughout the British Empire. A brilliant surgeon, bold reformer and prickly individual known for his fierce tempter, he fought a duel in South Africa and clashed with Florence Nightingale in the Crimea. But Dr Barry has a secret that he is determined no one should every learn...
The story of an all-black regiment's assault on the impregnable Fort Wagner in the Civil War, an act of extraordinary courage that changed hearts and minds in America for ever THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR. 1863. On a cold beach in South Carolina, the soldiers of the 54th Massachussets Regiment are marching into battle. Their mission: to capture the impregnable Fort Wagner. The odds are heavily against them, and the stakes could not be higher - they are one of the first all-Black regiments in the Union Army, and all of America is watching them. Among their ranks is William Harvey Carney. A former enslaved man who escaped to the North, he knows what a precious thing freedom is. So when the bugle sounds, and the regimental flag is hoisted high, William charges towards the guns. An author, speaker and writing teacher, Kekla Magoon has been longlisted for the National Book Award, received an NAACP Image Award, and three Coretta Scott King Awards. She initially studied history at Northwestern University in the US, and loves to uncover the stories of the brave and creative people who have come before us. Her books about civil rights and social justice in America include X, a novel about Malcolm X co-written with his daughter, and The Rock and the River, about a young boy torn between his civil rights leader father and his Black Panther brother.