17 The Criteria of Being a Hero

17 The Criteria of Being a Hero

By Sandi Toksvig

Do children collect stamps anymore? Sandi's managed to unearth her own childhood collection, many of which are depictions of the American Civil War.

This inspired a quest through the bookshelves to unearth and re-account some heroic - and largely overlooked - tales of women during that time. 

As a 16 year old girl, Sybil Ludington, took-on the task of riding 40 miles across the land, at the dead of night to warn of the approaching enemy troops. Whilst Sybil's story is passed-over in favour of that of a male who only rode half the distance, it leads Sandi to ponder, who gets to decide who the heroes are? 

We also get to hear about another brave, clever young woman, whose story has been immortalised - but almost completely inaccurately - there's even evidence to suggest that Pocahontas wasn't her real name.

Take care, be kind...We Will Get Past This. 


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