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You know you are a geek when . . . your book is already published, but you're still doing research.

When I set out to write The Secrets of Mary Bowser, there very little documented evidence of Bowser's life. Since then, a few key historians have uncovered new information. And I've learned that many common beliefs about Bowser are embellished or completely unproven.

This New York Times article, The Black Slave in the Confederate White House, details my most recent research on Bowser. It includes my analysis of what we can learn from what we don't know about her.

It also includes the only known physical description of Bowser, as recorded by Reverend Charles Beecher, Harriet Beecher Stowe's brother.