Matthew Stephens

as a man. She told them of her enlistment in the marines and her journey to India, where she fought in the siege of Pondicherry and was severely wounded. Managing to conceal her sex, she returned to London and broke the news of her adventures. Two sell-out editions of her biography were published in 1750 and her portrait was available on every street corner. Later that year, the Royal Chelsea Hospital granted her a lifetime army pension.

From the moment Hannah Snell revealed her secret, authors, journalists and playwrights have written their version of this extraordinary woman's story. While some have accused Snell of being a charlatan, others have believed her every word. For the first time, Matthew Stephens has looked behind the myths and reveals an intriguing tale of bravery and deceit and has discovered previously unknown archival material in his quest to test a narrative carefully constructed by Hannah’s publisher, the notorious Robert Walker. Stephens not only follows Hannah on her journey to India and back, but for the first time he traces her theatrical appearances in London and the provinces.