Fiery suffragettes, unconventional first ladies and rebellioussocialites—turning up their noses at ladylike behavior, these pioneering women ofWashington, D.C., shattered the expectations of a tightly corseted society.Escaped slave turned spy Mary Touvestre risked it all to scuttle Confederateplans to break the Union blockade. Trading petticoats for trousers to work at the Union hospitals, Dr. Mary E. Walker was both the onlyfemale Medal of Honor recipient and the possessor of a police record forimpersonating a man. During Prohibition, First Lady Florence Harding hostedjazz soirees and served up cocktails in the White House gardens. Frompioneering photographers and newspaperwomen to enterprising madams and soldiersin disguise, author Canden Schwantes introduces readers to the decidedly daringand wild women of the capital.