A 17th century
German troublemaker, successful at
cross-dressing, but not so good at a
life of crime.
She was from
Bodensee and ran away to join the army, where she served in men’s clothes as a soldier and a cook for 15 years. When she got out of the service, she headed to
Holland. She worked as a
valet in
Amersfoort, but grew bored and took off with a generous quantity of
silver pilfered from her employer.
In
Utrecht, she decided to give being a woman a try again, and got a job as a maid. She was caught stealing by her employer. Instead of firing here or turning her into the cops, the mistress decided to keep Isabella on in her service. In gratitude, Isabella stayed on for a while, then set the house on fire. She was caught and sentenced to death by
strangulation.