Los Angeles-based productionand international sales company Dream Entertainment has optioned the rights tohistorian Alfred F Young's wartime tale Masquerade.

The story centres on theexploits of Deborah Sampson, who disguised herself as a man and fought theBritish during the American Revolution and went on to win her battle for aveteran's pension.

Dream is looking to hire ascreenwriter for the project and plans to take it into development straightaway.

The book also describesSampson's postwar life as a wife and mother on a Massachusetts farm and hercollaboration with the writer Herman Mann on the book about her experiences,which made her a celebrity and sent her on a year-long publicity tour.

Company president YitzhakGinsberg and Robert Nau of Alexander Nau Lawrence & Frumes negotiated thedeal with Paradigm and Babette Sparr of the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agencyrepresenting Young.

"There lies a great drama inthe story of this amazing, intelligent and risk-taking woman in the backdrop ofa fascinating era," Ginsberg said in a statement.

"I am very impressed withYitzhak Ginsberg's clear and imaginative vision of a film that will focus onthe human story of Deborah Sampson." Young added.

"It will reveal a side ofthe American Revolution that has never before been brought to the screen."

Dream is currently inproduction on the stop-motion satire Disaster.