Product Description

If God was watching that Indian summer afternoon of November 30, 1864, some say he would have been looking at the continent of America, in the central part of a state called Tennessee, at a little town called Franklin - where a terrible battle was about to begin. Within a few short hours nearly 10,000 men would be dead, and the lives of many others changed utterly; none more so than Carrie McGavock who would find her home taken over by the Confederate Army and turned into a field hospital. On the field of battle, a seasoned Southern soldier, Zachariah Cashwell, would drop his gun and charge forward into Yankee territory holding only the flag of his company's colours. In the pain-filled days and weeks that followed, both would find a form of mutual healing that neither thought possible. In an extraordinary debut novel, based on a true story, Robert Hicks paints an unforgettable portrait of a woman who, through love and loss, found a cause. Known throughout the country as the Widow of the South, Carrie McGavock gave her heart first to a stranger, then to a tract of hallowed ground, becoming in the process a symbol of a nation's soul.

Product Details

• Published on: 2006-09-26
• Formats: Abridged, Audiobook
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 5
• Binding: Audio CD

Good Housekeeping
‘… Packed with vernacular details and the story is touchingly real.’

Choice
'Based on fact and meticulously researched, it is a moving novel. Robert Hicks is a superb storyteller.'

Saga Magazine
"This remarkable first novel, written in strong vivid prose, affirms love in the shared grief and madness of war."

Customer Reviews

Empathy par excellence
This is not a novel to be compared to "Killer Angels", rather to be placed alongside it. The battle of Franklin is the backdrop only - the causal foil for the novel - Readers who enjoy well rounded and substantial characterisations will find themselves totally immersed in the wonderful tapestry of this novel. It is beautifully written and the writer demonstates a powerful empathy for each character, major or minor, yet he provides subtle observations of them and their world: all of which is carried along by a wonderful prose(which at times I found quite lyrical). It is not a novel about the American Civil War but of the Civil war - a testament to the human condition in adversity. A must read for everyone.

Spellbinding
A novel which comes highly recommended. To anyone with an interest in the US Civil War or the Southern Sates a "must" read.

Now I want to Know More About Carrie
Overall, this is enjoyable historical fiction about a figure in American Civil War history who should be better known - Carrie McGavock. Because of her, 1,481 men who fell in the battle of Franklin have a proper place of rest where they would have otherwise become part of some planter's field.

There are the bones of a great novel here; a flawed, enigmatic heroine, a home used as hospital and grounds used as final resting place, and all the conundrums, quandaries and questions that should go along with this scenario. Hicks misses a trick, I believe, by creating a fictional subplot that was unnecessary and distracting. Not only was it a waste of time and storytelling, it committed the mortal sin of being unbelievable. I love it when historical fiction plays with the story a bit (hence the word "fiction," for all those who have their undies in a bunch over the inaccuracies), but if it isn't written in a way that creates a plausible storyline, then that's the fault of the author.

Having said all that, I still enjoyed Widow of the South a great deal. Carrie, Mariah, John, Eli, and even Zachariah are tremendously interesting characters and I enjoyed sharing their lives. I just would have preferred less in the way of extraneous subplots and more concentration on the fascinating story that already exists, ripe for the picking.