About the Book:

The title character of this haunting historical novel is Carrie McGavock, whose farmhouse was commandeered as a Confederate field hospital before the tragic battle at Franklin, Tennessee, in November 1864. That day, 9,000 soldiers perished. This tragic event turned McGavock into “the widow of the South.” She spent the rest of her life mourning those lost, eventually reburying nearly 1,500 of them on her property. Robert Hicks’s first historical novel captures the life-altering force that war exerts even on noncombatants.

Book Review:  ★★★★★★

This is a book that I found very surprising! Usually I avoid Civil War era books, and stories. I find that the subject is so much popular tripe, and the stories become cliche, and disappointing. However, this story proved to be an exception to the rule.  It is based on an unusual point of view — a woman, Carrie McGavock, whose home was commandeered as an army hospital, because it was at the site of one of the last battles of the war, the battle of Franklin, Tennessee. The story does more than break the saga of this war down to them against us, the North against the South.  Rather, this story takes a very real look at the human side of war, particularly a war that nearly destroyed this country.  And through out the story we are introduced to the medical practices of the time, (or lack thereof), and the devastation that was visited upon the cities of this country.  Most of us do not stop to realize that many homes became hospitals, and military bases.  Many acreage became cemeteries, and many people didn’t just hear about the war — but they lived in it, as it moved through their front yards, and destroyed everything in its path.  They were not just side line spectators, but on the front lines of complete devastation.

Mr. Hicks has done a very good job of portraying the growth and development of all of the characters, without dropping the story, or loosing track of the course of the action. This book offered an interesting insight into the death throws of the old South as it was, before the war shredded the remains of a dying lifestyle. This book also does very well at demonstrating the difficulties encountered in the South, during the course of reconstruction; particularly the difficulties encountered by people in letting go of the past, and forging a new, and to them, unknown future. Ultimately I found this book to be a great picture, in historical fiction form, into the difficulties encountered by a dying gentry, as America struggled to move into a new age that was dependent on mechanized production, and not genteel trade sustained on the backs of slaves.

This book helps the reader look at the elements of a culture that defined the racial difficulties existing in the United States, and forces the reader to think about the origins of those differences — many of which have continued to survive into modern day. Few people realize that in some ways the scars of this era continue, and in some cases they even fester and develop into modern day struggles for racial equality.  We like to think that this lifestyle, and this dark era of our history died with the last of the Southern plantations.  However, a careful reading of this book allows the reader to realize how close to the surface these questions of race, and equality really are.  By understanding their origins, we come to see  that we, as a nation are still struggling to heal the wounds that nearly tore this country apart.

I found myself really enjoying this book, and would recommend it for anyone that enjoys reading historical fiction.  Not only is Carrie McGavock a really fun character, but she gives us a front line view of a struggle that continues throughout this country today, and she also allows us to see the death throws of the old South, as a once great culture struggled to adapt and change in a rapidly shifting world.

For more information about this book, and its author be sure to visit the following websites:

Interview with Robert Hicks

The Killing Fields Book Review article

The Historical Setting

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