Diary of Agent 355: Mystery Lady of Washington's Culper Spy Ring

Fans of AMC's TURN: Washington's Spies did not notice in 2014 when a Wall Street tycoon bought an old farmhouse in Brookhaven on Long Island and discovered a priceless manuscript hidden inside, but they should now. Discovery of the two-century-old “Diary of Agent 355,” the “Mystery Lady” of George Washington’s Culper Spy Ring made Revolutionary-era historians salivate. Ever since Morton Pennypacker first uncovered the Culper spies eight decades ago, historians have endeavored unsuccessfully to discover Agent 355’s identity. As the diary’s editor states: “Essentially the name of Agent 355 remains the last mystery of the American War of Independence.” The crucial role of the Long Island spy ring in winning America’s freedom has inspired books and even a popular TV series. True to history, all the era’s characters get a new breath of life in this incredible diary: reluctant spy Abraham Woodhull, brainy Anna Strong, guerrilla fighter Caleb Brewster and officious spymaster Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge. On the British side, dashing Major John André, villainous Major John Graves Simcoe and battle-honed Robert Rogers turn up, unforgettably. It is a rare first-person account of a fearless woman’s significant contributions to America’s revolt against King George III. Her beauty and unique “talents” were first seen by Alexander Hamilton who put her in the spy game in 1775, and later by Woodhull who recruited her into the Culper Ring because he feared for his life. Packed with action and new insights on historical events, among other exciting tales, her diary reveals how she stopped the assassination of a Patriot governor, raided Connecticut’s infamous Simsbury Mine prison; saved spy Woodhull from discovery and, according to the diary’s editor, singlehandedly halted British defeat of the ill-equipped Continental Army early in the war. With a preface and afterword by the editor and lavishly underpinned with explanatory footnotes, “Diary of Agent 355” is a must read for history buffs. – Pilar Publishing of California.