Customer Reviews

The Glory Cloak: A Novel of Louisa May Alcott and Clara Barton

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a great story set in a time of great history with great characters. Pat O'Brien has skillfully woven the lives of Louisa May Alcott and Clara Barton into a novel that's exciting to read. As historic events unfold, the friendship between Susan Gray, the fictional narrator of the book, and Louisa May Alcott is tested, broken and finally restored.

The insights into the personalities of Louisa May Alcott and Clara Barton were an extra bonus. I especially appreciated the "Afterward" at the end of the book where Ms O'Brien explained where the true facts ended and the fiction began.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!

The Glory Cloak is an empowering book that shows what women can accomplish under the worst of circumstances. This novel centers around Clara Barton and Louisa May Alcott during and after the Civil War and ties their stories together through a fictional character named Susan that portrays a cousin to Louisa. This is the story of a lifelong friendship, women surviving and thriving while cleaning up the messes made my men and most importantly chronicles the accomplishments of women smart enough to stay single and childfree despite the pressures of society. I only wish I had read this book thirty years ago...

The recent discovery in a building in downtown Washington, boarded up for more than one hundred years, of an office where Clara Barton had been seeking the whereabouts (and burial sites) of thousands of missing Civil War soldiers, led Patricia O'Brien to write this tender and exciting tale of what might have happened if Louisa May Alcott--as a volunteer nurse--had met Clara in a vile Washington hospital, and had apparently fallen in love with a wounded soldier who was to move mysteriously through both their lives. No wonder Gore Vidal gave the book such high praise!

Patricia O'Brien has written a great story about women who responded to the call for duty during the Civil War. She skillfully recreates the horror and heroism experienced by young Louisa Alcott through the eyes of a friend, Susan Gray. Together they work in deplorable conditions that test their personal strength and friendship. Not only do readers get to know Louisa May Alcott and and her family, but we also learn about the political and social battles fought by Clara Barton and other dedicated women of the times. They were all women who made a difference and Patricia O'Brien does a great job of telling their story.

The telling thing for me when reading a book is that if I put it down and don't go back to it for over a week, it must not be that good. And when I look at it and then choose to read something else I know it's not a good book.

The story takes place in Boston, Concord and surrounding areas is interesting only because I grew up there.

Susan is the fictional friend of Louisa Alcott and together they go off as nurses at a Civil War hospital. Mildly interesting but very flat, predictable characters throughout. Lousia fall in love with one of the soldiers who then disappears.

The glory cloak is a gift to Lousia to empower her to better writing. Alcott struggles with writing and publishing and Susan is there to encourage her and cheer her on.

To sum up, Louisa is a mediocre writer who managed in her life to write a few entertaining pieces and then forevermore yearns for fame and in her melodramatic way believes she deserves it

This was an interesting novel and kept me entertained throughout. I have to admit not being a fan of Alcott, I may have read Little Women when I was younger, but I don't recall it. That will be to be on my TBR list for the future.

The story is told in the first person by Alcott's fictional cousin, Susan Gray. She recounts their childhood, family and famous residents of Concord. As adults, the Civil War begins and Mary and Louisa volunteer as nurses in a Washington DC hospital, where they meet the famous nurse and activist Clara Barton, and the mysterious patient John Sulie, who Louisa is strongly attracted to. Do be warned, this was not a pretty war, nor was the aftermath on the wounded soldiers. The author doesn't pull any punches here. The story then shifts to the aftermath of the Civil War, and Clara Barton's mission to account for all the missing and dead soldiers, which the government would prefer to remain unaccounted for. The book finishes with the remainder of Louisa's life in Condord until her death.

While Susan is a fictional cousin, it was a good way to bring the reader closer to Alcott's inner circle and know her better. Some parts of the story play a little loose with known history, which are acknowledged in the author's notes at the end of the book. All in all an entertaining read, but as I previously noted, I'm not a huge fan of Alcott. Good read, but not one I'm likely to take off the shelf and read again every few years.

This is a book about Louisa May Alcott and her fictional cousin Susan, both of whom happen to interact with Clara Barton. It is not a story of the friendship between Alcott and Barton; indeed, Susan is closer to each of them than they are to each other. Still, it is a good story, well told, about friendship among women; it could stand on that truthful blurb alone, IMO. The book also gives good insight into the lives of women in the mid-19th century and provides never-to-be-forgotten glimpses into Civil War medical care.

It may be my own pet peeve (I once had a fight with a poet who wrote about cows being made into bacon) but historical accuracy is a little loose. I don't mind the imagined cousin to move the plot along but, IIRC, Lincoln did not die the night he was assassinated; he died several days later at a residence across the street from Ford's theater. This jars the storytelling at a crucial point in the background narrative.

The Bookschlepper

I so enjoyed The Glory Cloak, I could scarcely put it down. At times, I laughed; often, I cried. This engaging novel vividly brings to life the passion and the horror of the American Civil War, and the contributions of women despite the constraints they faced in the nineteenth century. It also opens a window into the intellectual and emotional development of two women who have become American icons: Louisa May Alcott and Clara Barton. Men as well as women will enjoy this book. It's a terrfic read (and will make a good movie).

This book will delight lovers of historical fiction. Ms. O'Brien has clearly done her homework. Her novel is well researched and rich in historical detail. I found this the most gripping account of conditions in Washington DC during the Civil War since Gore Vidal's "Lincoln."

The characters in this book are based on three real people and one fictional. It gives you a real look of time during the Civil War and a brief look at hospital life during those times. Untrained nurses, body piles, amputations done in the worst of conditions may not be appealing but it is only a small part of this book. It contains a story with a twist that is refreshing and you get wrapped up in this book very easily.