This book by Robert Hicks was on the bestseller list several years ago but I'm just getting around to reading it as part of my genealogy research about an ancestor who died during the Civil War. The Widow of the South is based on a true story of a woman who buried nearly 1,500 Confederate soldiers in her backyard and tended their graves for the rest of her life. Hicks has woven an unusual love story between this woman and one of the soldiers into the larger story about the Battle of Franklin (Tennessee) and its impact on the people in that area.
The book is well-written and paints a grim picture of the Civil War for both soliders and civilians.
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I can't wait to hear more about your ancestor search! Elizabeth gave me a brief overview of the history but I'd love to hear about it in more detail. I think its the most amazing concept to actively look for someone who has been dead for 150 years and find out what happened to them. It makes mortality easier to think someone down the line might think of you and care what happened.
ReplyDeleteI've started reading this book and am enjoying it so far. I was having a hard time getting started when Carrie (main character) was in her depression mode but as the book has progressed and the characters have started to overlap I'm enjoying it a lot more.
ReplyDeleteI finished this book this weekend and in the end wasn't that big of a fan. I thought the love interest was too far fetched and random - maybe the cynic in me in coming out - but it seemed like they just magically *knew* they loved each other and they did spend sometime together but it was never really developed about HOW this could happen. I thought how the soldiers ended up buried on her land was interesting though and I would like to see the historic monuments built around the cemetery.
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