Ironhead, or, Once a Young Lady

A Junior Library Guild Selection

Eighteen-year-old Constance is not interested in marriage or in being a “young lady.” But for a young woman coming of age in the early 1800s, that’s just about all that’s available to her. When her parents arrange her a marriage with a man more than twice her age, she’s powerless to resist. Stance couldn’t possibly find her newfound husband less appealing, but what can she do?

Here’s what:

Four months into the marriage, she can slip out of their bed in the middle of the night, and she can put on his clothes. She can look in the mirror and like what she sees. She can sneak out of the house before dawn and visit the baker’s scrawny son, who has just been drafted into the army, and offer to take his place. Vive l’Empereur!

Hot on Stance’s tail all the while is her younger brother Pieter, determined to bring Stance back home to Ghent where she belongs. (The battlefield is no place for a young lady, after all.)

Ironhead, or, Once A Young Lady is the riotous and powerful story of a fierce renegade, and the silly men who try to bring her down.


P R A I S E

★ “Action-packed. Rich with detail. Rowdy and contemplative in turn, this celebration of historical gender nonconformity is as compelling as it is fun.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred)

★ “Stance is a delightfully chaotic protagonist, who is (scandalously) free with her affection and kisses and whose easy charm gets her out of more than little trouble. Thrilling, often hilarious, and sometimes tear-jerking, this romp of a story is reminiscent of classic adventure tales.”
—BCCB (starred)

★ “Propulsive storytelling. Though the book ends as Stance sets off in quest of the woman she loves, the real heart here is the affection that grows between two very different siblings.”
—Horn Book (starred)

“A perfect choice for fans of adventure tales with a prominent feminist streak.”
—Booklist