The Double Life of Mistress Kit Kavanagh

She is one of my favorite authors and this book is right up there with the rest. The story sounds impossible - but it is based on a real life person and events. Marina then weaves her magic and you feel you are right there with kit reliving every step of her adventure.

I adore all Marina Fiorato’s books and this one is no different. The book came as described, slightly used, which I like, and it was delivered pretty fast. Thank you!

So far I'm loving it! Marina Fiorato is a gem of a writer and I look forward to more of her work! She brings history to life and doesn't hold back!

Great book, enjoyed it immensely

I loved it because it was different fast paced and informative!

When Kit's husband Richard joins the regiment, Kit takes drastic steps to try to bring him safely back home to Ireland; thus setting out on her own adventure as she poses as a soldier to follow his trail. Joining the Scots Royal Dragoons and under the command of Captain Ross, Kit forges strong friendships and risks her life in battle. However, when she is forced to flee she finds herself acting another role, one no less dangerous, as recruited by the scheming Duke of Ormonde she plays the part of a Countess to spy on the French. Will Kit ever find her way safely home again?A vastly entertaining read, the story of Kit was a perfect blend of history and fiction; and I was interested to read more of the real Kit who inspired the story. Through all her guises, Kit makes for a compelling heroine, loyal and brave no matter the adversity. The story itself generally moves at a fast pace, with plenty of action and swash-buckling adventure. I have to say that before reading this book, I was not familiar with the War of the Spanish Succession, and as such was fascinated to learn more of that period of history.The story is told in two parts, the first with Kit masquerading as a solider, and the second with her acting the spy. I have to say that I loved the first part of the story so much, that I wasn't sure I would enjoy the second part so well; however, whilst I don't think the second half quite matched the first, it was still hugely enjoyable, especially when towards the end of the story Kit's two lives come together.I loved the parts of the story that focused on Kit and Ross' relationship, their slowly evolving friendship and respect for each other wonderfully drawn; and Ross himself was an ideal hero.All in all a splendid read.

** spoiler alert **Hm. Not quite the overwhelming tale of awesome I expected. It had its moments, but the pace and tone were pretty bland and hardly ever changed. No urgency, no deep, passionate fire, no raging exclamations - drama, damn it! It's about 150 pages too long and to be honest, from what I understand from a very short search on Google, and having now started the biography of her life, Kit Kavanagh was a damn sight more brutal than the rather sappy and dim girl of this piece (I found no great intellect or supreme resourcefulness) - she has stuck a metal bar through a sergeant's leg already as a girl. Not to mention she was almost a decade older and rather well educated at the time she joined the army.Attempting to rate a fiction book whilst keeping the historical side out of it would be easier if the author hadn't put an historical note in the back detailing bits of Kit's life, which is an invite to go and confirm for yourselves just how much of Kit wasn't in this book. And of course, the author only detailed the bits of Kit's life that tied in with her version of Kit's life as far as I can tell. It was stated that she had read the biography.However, keeping the historical side out of it, I'm not quite as disappointed as I was with Song of the Sea Maid, but where Dawnay was strong in the first half and a sop in the next, Kit was kind of placid the whole way through.Missing pieces that are way more interesting:-Kit was almost 30 years old when she joined the troops, not this 19-year-old of this version. I feel the author may have used her fictional youth to create more emphasis on Ross teaching her and being a mentor (so she'd fall for him) and to induce a feeling of innocence rather than a sexualised woman, who Kit seems to have been comfortable as. To be honest, it's a disservice to Kit, and there's no reason why a nigh-on-30-year-old woman dressed as a man cannot be a alluded to as the 'pretty dragoon', which actually happened. Maybe an adult with a strong grasp of herself was beyond the author's interest or skill, but I've no basis for comparison for this author's work, so maybe it's just a one-off.- Upon finding her husband during the war with another woman, she bit the woman's nose off. In this version she gets all weepy and woe is me. She remarried him in the army before her comrades after being outed.- She already had two children with Richard and was pregnant with the third when Richard disappeared. In this version she has no children, and actually loses the ability because of a musket wound. She really did suffer a musket wound (which eventually led to her exposure) which may have rendered her no longer able to bear children, but she was already a mother, thrice over. I feel the author probably didn't want to represent her as some kind of child deserter (she left her children with her mother and a nurse), but it actually takes away a hell of a lot of drama that could have been had. Instead the old cliche of 'woman loses ability to have children she didn't know she wanted' rears its ugly head on the great road of 'you cannot write about women without alluding to reproduction and the heartbreak of losing it' (which can be a terrible thing to learn, but by no means is it universal). Especially irritating when this was not the case, besides the fact that a woman addicted to warfare might actually not have wanted any children anyway.-The woman who declared Kit was the father of her child seemed to have been a slighted woman (a woman whose advances did't work on Kit) rather than some heiress and, though Kit did accept the paternity to conceal her sex (though she was friggin' unhappy about the lies), the child in question died within a month of birth. Again, the whole 'I really wanted a child' thing was tediously drawn out with this story. Though to be fair, Kit does die just after Bianca's child comes to visit her, because dead Captain Ross is calling - eventually she abandons her child. Priorities, love.-She was actually a damn good looter and probably a pretty good brawler considering her taste for war and the respect of her comrades. In this version she's a bit flouncy with the more 'immoral' sides of the battle and always trying to do her best to be seen as generous and kind. Meh.I think it's a very tepid rendition of the life of this woman who sounds so marvellously more interesting in the biography, even though I'm only on page 17 or so, but who has had her most interesting and startling details, ones that would give us a fuller idea of her morals and ideals, removed and restricted, so she can ride into the distance with Captain Ross, because after Richard and Ross (who she didn't marry) she went through two husbands (she died Christian Davies). Then again, I've not read the whole biography yet, maybe she gets mega boring.I think the rule is if you're going to write about a character in history then use the history. There's no reason why all the points above could not have been included for a better story and no need to change what's actually recorded, because it hasn't made it more dramatic or inspiring. Otherwise, change her name, make that stuff up and create a fictional heroine - Kit could have been the inspiration here rather than the subject. I'd be really feckin' irritated if someone took Michael Faraday's history, changed it so he had kids (because he and his wife couldn't) to show what a great father he'd have made. Don't use a name to sell a book unless you're true to who they were, it doesn't mean you have to copy every single detail, but when details are there...You can't 'perfect' a woman who was by no means perfect, but you can give us an extraordinary story of a courageous and persistent woman whose character wasn't faultless without us disliking her because of those faults. I believe those 'faults' are probably what the men in her life loved most. It's the toxic fairytale dream that removes a woman's 'questionable' character for the sake of a soppy happy ending and a 'love me because I'm so sweet and kind and lovely' vibe. I'm not saying she wasn't, but it wasn't all she was. It seems to me Kit's ending was happy enough already without the dilution.It seems this book irritated me more than I realised.

I love historical fiction and this book’s wonderful cover drew me in even before I had read the back page synopsis.This is an amazing story about a young eighteenth century Irish woman, Kit Kavanagh, whose husband is taken one night and pressed into army service. Kit has always dreamed of adventure away from the day to day work in her family’s bar so when her Aunt Maura suggests she leaves to find him, Kit has no qualms about setting off on this great journey. She enlists in the army, disguised as a man and is transported to Italy. On arrival she is chosen to join the Scottish Grey Dragoons. After training she eventually goes with the regiment to fight in northern Italy. Captain Ross, the young commander who trained them is everything a good soldier should be; brave, handsome, honest and above all devoted to his men. Ross looks out for Kit, believing her to be a 16 year old boy and the ‘baby’ of the regiment. As they travel Kit’s respect for him grows into something far deeper. Pushing aside these feelings, she fixes her mind on finding Richard, her husband.Kit goes through an amazing array of experiences as she journeys through Italy. Involved in fighting, injured in battle, challenging the regiment’s bully to a duel and being thrown into prison are only some of the things which happen to her. Then just when she feels her search is hopeless, someone brings her news of her husband’s whereabouts. And if you thought this is going to be the end of the story…well actually there is far more to come.This story moved with great pace. Kit’s journey was a roller coaster of events with some heart stopping and quite sad moments. It’s also an amazing chronicle of historical events written with the kind of skill that raises it above many similar novels. I loved the writing and the story kept me reading right to the end. In fact was the kind of book I was reluctant to put down and always keen to pick up again.I thoroughly recommend The Double Life of Mistress Kit Kavanagh – a very deserving five star read.I would like to thank Hodder and Stoughton for a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love Maria Fiorato's books and this is the best so far. Based on a true story of an Irish woman who posed as a soldier and followed her husband to Italy in the Time of Queen Anne, it is a great read. I couldn't put it down.

This is the true story of the Irish Kit Kavenagh, who became a soldier to follow her husband as he took the Queens Shilling and enrolled as a British soldier to fight in Italy. Without him knowing, his wife Kit followed him and disguised herself as a soldier, ended up in the Dragoons.Marina as always creates a fast paced, fascinating story which has left me entranced to the end of the book. A great read.