title: The Female Marine" and Related Works: Narratives of Cross-Dressing and Urban Vice in America's Early Republic
author: Daniel A. Cohen
description: First published in 1815, <i>The Female Marine</i> purported to be the autobiography of a woman who, in order to escape the shame of having a child out of wedlock and subsequent work as a prostitute, disguised herself as a boy and joined the Marines. The popularity of this narrative led to its being reprinted 19 times in 3 years and gave rise to a series of sequels, also included in this modern edition. This is a lively tale full of duels, piracy, and swashbuckling. It is also a sobering study about what a woman in early 19th-century America had to do to achieve some level of independence. Cross-dressing for this protagonist is not about performing; it is about saving her life. In addition to the action-filled plot and astute cultural observations, this book has wonderfully florid 19th-century prose that makes it appropriate for reading aloud.
zlib_text: ALSO BY MERVE EMRE
  Paraliterary: The Making of Bad Readers in Postwar America
  
  Copyright © 2018 by Merve Emre
  All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Doubleday, a division of
  Penguin Random House LLC, New York.
  www.doubleday.com
  DOUBLEDAY and the portrayal of an anchor with a dolphin are registered
  trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.
  Cover design by Emily Mahon
  Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on ﬁle at the Library of Congress
  ISBN 9780385541909
  Ebook ISBN 9780385541916
  v5.3.2
  ep
  
  For my mother
  
  Contents
  Cover
  Also by Merve Emre
  Title Page
  Copyright
  Dedication
  Introduction: Speaking Type
  Part One
  Chapter 1: The Cosmic Laboratory of Baby Training
  Chapter 2: Women’s Work
  Chapter 3: Meet Yourself
  Chapter 4: An Unbroken Series of Successful Gestures
  Chapter 5: Desperate Amateurs
  Part Two
  Chapter 6: The Science of Man
  Chapter 7: The Personality Is Political
  Chapter 8: Sheep and Buck
  Chapter 9: A Perfect Spy
  Chapter 10: People’s Capitalism
  Chapter 11: The House-Party Appr