Reviews for The Widow of the South

The average rating for The Widow of the South based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-07-21 00:00:00 Peter Speerin This novel is based on the true story of Carrie McGavock who gave of herself for the benefit of others selflessly her entire life. Carrie and her home were unfortunate to end up sitting only a few hundred yards from the Civil War Battle of Franklin Tennessee. The Confederate army used her home as a hospital. Hundreds of soldiers were cared for by the family and the army orderlies and surgeons. Today Carrie's preserved home is the site of the largest private cemetery in the country where over 1400 souls are buried. Their graves were tended by Carrie until she passed away in 1905, and are now cared for by the Daughters of the Confederacy. All Confederate dead, laid out by state and unit, with each of their names listed for their families to visit the grave their loved one. In the current political climate, I didn't have any trouble getting a copy of the book from the library. I don't imagine the book will be sought out much this summer. This historical novel tells a story of a southern woman who later became an American. It is well written and is based on historic events. However, 155 years later that war's memory is still divisive. I believe that while some want to erase history it cannot be done. Removing a few statues and changing the names of schools and their mascots will not erase what happened. We need to take lessons from history and use them to better our lives and our ability to live together.

Review # 2 was written on 2009-03-06 00:00:00 Wicked Tone I absolutely LOVED this book. I was reading it when I went up to Rabun County once for some respite from my goofy household. A whole week by myself. It was heaven. But the thought of driving 5 hours was overwhelming, so I took the book out on tape and listened to it on tape while driving, then would read on the back porch in the cabin. I kept trying to figure out if I could drive to the Franklin in the book and see the actual setting. (Though this is historical fiction, it's based on the true story of Carrie McGavock whose plantation home was used as a hospital during the battle of Franklin between the Union and Confederate armies.) Maybe because I live in the south, maybe because I am a nurse, or maybe because I am a romantic at heart, this book really resounded with me. I just pulled the copy we own off the shelf this morning, and promised it I would re-read it again someday. I thought the author did a brilliant job at drawing the characters and describing the brutal nature of life during the Civil War, for both civilians and soldiers. The interweaving of the various tales was so well done. This one's a keeper.