I lost myself in the strokes, entering a clearness of mind. A peacefulness I felt down to my soul. Then a voice filtered in.

I stopped and kicked in place, listening. Staring into the rainy night.

“Frannie!”

I turned to the sound and smiled. Then I put my head down and swam.

Author’s Note

“355” was real.

I learned about her when—hoping to fill some of the gaps in my education—I dove into the internet in search of “women I should know.” There she was—an eighteenth-century spy. A woman who had found a way to insert herself into a pivotal moment in American history.

What do we know of 355 that’s provable in the historical record? Not a whole lot. She was an active participant in the Culper spy network, which operated in New York City during the American Revolution. In the Culper code book, “355” corresponds to the word “lady,” which suggests that she was of elevated social status. And we know that, at least in one instance, the Culper spies relied on 355 to “outwit them all.”

Little as that is, when I learned these things, I was hooked.

In the eighteenth century, spying was dishonorable and unseemly—far from the stylishly appealing job portrayed in modern film and television. I began to wonder…what sort of lady would have risked her reputation to spy? And she didn’t just defy king and country. At that time, politics was overwhelmingly the domain of wealthy white men—and yet 355 defied the norms of her sex to engage in this landscape in a bold, though secretive, way.

I couldn’t resist the urge to know her better. Thus Francisca Tasker was born—over four years of research and writing.

Though it has been suggested that 355 played a role in uncovering Benedict Arnold’s treachery, her involvement is not provable in the historical record. History does tell us, however, that Benedict Arnold scoured New York City for rebel spies after he turned coat and became a British general. A spy from Culper Ring, within which 355 operated, was among those who were captured and imprisoned. This upset Robert Townsend so deeply that he left New York for a time.

I like to think 355 did contribute to foiling Arnold’s plan to turn over West Point. Had he pulled it off, the war might have had a very different outcome. Whatever impact 355 made, big or small, in my eyes she was a trailblazer and a heroine.

Frannie represents the imaginative leap I took from the facts available on 355, but many figures in Rebel Spy were real. George Washington, of course. Benedict Arnold, whose very name connotes treachery. For the English side, General Henry Clinton and Major John André, who conspired with Benedict Arnold and paid the ultimate price for it.