Complex sentence: From an early age she began to dress and act like a boy, a behaviour not discouraged by her parents, and which she retained all her life--in fact in later life she was often mistaken for a young man.
Split into simpler sentences: From an early age she began to dress and act like a boy, a behaviour not discouraged by her parents, and which she retained all her life. In fact in later life she was often mistaken for a young man.