The Widow of the South

by Robert Hicks

Carrie McGavock dresses in black and floats about her plantation in a fog: she cannot stop mourning the loss of 3 of her children. She snaps back to reality when the Union and Confederate armies march into town (Franklin, Tennessee) and engage in a rather bloody battle. Her home is quickly transformed into a hospital for wounded Confederate soldiers. Surrounded by pain and death, Carrie is brought back to life by one soldier: Sgt. Zachariah Cashwell.

Okay, it was a bestseller, and now I know why: it's basically a historical romance. No kidding. The cover is beautiful and somewhat imposing, but the prose is easy to read, and it's really just a love story. Set during the Civil War. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I was expecting something more substantial. All in all, a good story. Nothing spectacular.

2/15/06