Customer Reviews

Jarrettsville: A Novel

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Fabulous novel! I couldn't put it down. There is history, war, romance, and even a mystery in a way. The setting is the the very end of the American Civil War when North and South are still dealing with their hatred of each other and a country is torn apart by different ideas and beliefs. Tho the war is officially over, in a small town called Jarrettsville, emotions are still running high. I loved the history in this book. Very rarely do books go into much detail about the aftermath of a war. The politics, the [...] of Lincoln, the controversies of slavery and how the freedmen are treated are all summed up in this book. The author does not gloss over it either, but really lets readers see how it must have been.

Back to Jarrettsville.. The beginning of the book starts a couple years after the war has ended when Martha walks up to Nicholas and shoots him dead. She shoots him more than once. Then she cries about it. If that doesn't get ones attention, I don't know what will.. Anyway, from the get go, you know whodunit. No mystery there. But whytheydunit remains to be seen and Ms. Nixon takes us back four years before to provide the answer. Here it becomes a tragic love story complete with family conflicts, deaths, differing opinions, nosy townfolk, and even racial tensions. Do not be put off by the sudden time change. It is expertly done. Once it goes back four years, it pretty much stays there till the very end when it goes back to the time of the murder and then into the trial. The murder and trial scenes are told from different viewpoints of people involved or nearby, but the majority of the book is told from either Martha or Nicholas' point of view.

Towards the end, you know whodunit and whytheydunit, but you must keep reading to find out what becomes of Martha. Does she go to jail? Does she hang? Does her brother take the rap for her? As I said above, I couldn't put it down.

There was even, in my opinion, a moral in the story of Martha and Nicholas. Communicate! If he had only told her his concerns and cleared the air about certain issues, so much sadness could have been avoided.

Highly recommended to historical fiction or Civil War buffs or readers that just appreciate a good book.

I'm three quarters through this novel and I truly just don't want the writing to end. Author Cornelia Nixon has taken a real life post-civil war tragedy and hung all the the issues of that turbulent period on it like explosive ornaments on a Christmas tree. The characters, the war, the customs and the prejudices all tussle to stand and be counted in this divided 1860's rural community of northern Maryland. Its A community full of two kinds of men just returning from trying to kill one another over the rights of the slave, now a freedman in their midst. The battles are over, Lincoln and Booth are dead, but here on the Mason-Dixon line the war continues.

You may not be a historical novel reader, and you may not want to visit a time and place that is written about so frequently. But trust me when I say that this novel is not your standard time period piece. At the center are people with loves, fears, dreams and hurts not unlike those of people in today's society or peoples of ancient Rome. Interesting to compare

The author begins by telling you what happens. In her telling of how it happens she fills you with enough mystery and suspense to make you almost forget that you know the outcome. Though my copy is an advance reading copy, I've found the story clear, the characters vivid and the flow of writing flawless. I especially enjoy it when a story is being told from a hindsight point of view by those most effected by its events. Love, murder and mayhem are hardly ever as convincing as portrayed here in "Jarrettsville." Maybe that's because it really happened and it took a woman wronged by a man to finally seek justice like a man. Violently!

A historic read!

I really enjoyed reading this book. Most books from around that time period alway are about the actaul war years, while this one is about the time right after the war ends. There is alot of stuff about the trials and tribulations the people of that time went through and had to except or not survive it. The end of the book did surprise me however at the same time it didn't. There's alot of civil war history in it that most people more than likely don't know about or understand. After reading the book it was hard for me to chose a side between Martha's and Nick's. Because if he would have just talked to her and voiced his concerns and stuff I feel that it would have prevented alot of sadness for both of them and there famlies.

Cornelia Nixon, in an amazing writers' Tour de Force, brings us a fictionalized portrait of a post-civil war murder in Maryland. Set in a background of hate and distrust among the still-smoldering coals of the two sides of the war and antebellum attitudes toward gender and romance, the story is built around the love affair of Martha Jane Cairnes and Nicholas McComas, each a member of a family on opposing sides of the north vs. south conflict. In "Jarretsville," author Nixon presents the story of their love and the final cold-blooded murder using the vehicle of more than a dozen characters at the scene.

In addition to her awesome writing talent, Ms. Nixon's choice of this vehicle, the first person narration of a variety of characters, allows her to rivet our attention on the precise object, the emotion she wants us to experience. The product of such controlled point of view in her capable hands holds the reader spellbound to every page of this novel which relates a rollercoaster of love and hate, the sublime and the ridiculous. This could not be more dramatic than the fact that it is a southern, hoopskirt-clad woman who shoots the lover she suspects of betrayal.

Her characters are well-developed and author Nixon takes us deep within the background of the individuals to make them credible, to build the empathy of reader and character that heighten the tension of the book's plot.

Another feature of this book not to be overlooked is the language, the prose style of Ms. Nixon in "Jarretsville." For all its dour subject matter, the novel is delightfully lyrical, full of wondrous creative expressions that sing in your imagination. The following are but a few examples from dozens contained in this book, e.g., "The cherry trees were all in bloom, a froth of pink around the white house," ". . . and clear gray eyes, lashes drooped across them as if to screen his thoughts," and "the nation was in mourning all that month [for President Lincoln]and one Sunday when the air felt like boiled laundry . . .".

For the elegant depiction of the raw emotions of the conflict of north vs. south, slave owners and abolitionists, and the stunning conclusion of "Jarritsville" this novel is a must read for all those interested in American History, for the entertainment of it and the dizzying hearthbreak of an illicit love in a repressive culture, a story that will echo in your mind long after you've read the last sentence.

My brother recommended this book, and I found it a fascinating story that made putting it down very difficult. I love the way the story is told from different perspectives, because it gives depth to the story itself. The story is based on events in the author's family history, and it well documented from newspapers stories from the time. As a lover of "faction" novels such as this, I recommend this book as a good read.

I am almost finished Jarrettsville and will miss it. It is set in an interesting area of USA, just a few miles south of the Mason-Dixon Line which means that residents' sympathy varies from the "North" (Pennsylvania, etc. 30 mi. north) and the "South." I have visited this area often and it does lend itself to a good story. Similar to "Chaneysville Incident" by Bradley, a favorite of mine.
Beyond a good setting, Nixon has a way with words and a creative approach, forming the story from various residents' viewpoints. Not only that, but the viewpoints are set in different time periods and flow into each other. Her style is riveting, a mixture of history, action and art. It also helps that the novel is based on family history, in that Nixon is the descendent of characters in her book.
I want more!!

I am related to the Cairnes family through marriage and was born and raised in Jarrettsville, MD. Until I was given this book as a gift, I was not even aware of this family story. I have never read a book that moved me as much as "Jarrettsville". The passion and conflict that are present throughout this book will absolutely warm you with emmotions as if you were living in the story yourself. I recommend this wonderful work of art to anyone who is interested in reading a book that can make your heart pound and move you to tears of many emotions. Thank you Ms. Nixon for bringing a true story to life in the pages of this most powerful work of art.

I read a few paragraphs when my daughter-in-law was reading and I felt it was the kind of book I would be interested in. I will eventually read it and I know I will enjoy it.

It'll make a wonderful Hollywood movie. "Cold Mountain" after the Civil War. As the opening credits roll (in sepia, mournful Civil War music in the background) the defiled woman - Martha Jane Cairnes - walks into the bar of a hotel in Jarrettsville, MD and shoots at point blank range her paramour Nicholas McComas who minutes later shuffles off his mortal coil. As the scene dissolves, we pick up the story at the beginning.
The two tragic figures never had a chance. She from a Maryland family that supported the Confederacy; he a former soldier on the Union side. At best it would be a mixed marriage. The Rebels could not forget their great crusade; the Unionists could not help but celebrate their victory. Nicholas is murdered in April 1869 upon his return from Pennsylvania to commemorate with his unit the vanquishing of the South.
Jarrettsville is a real life of a story that has haunted the Cairnes family for a century and a half and of which the novelist Cornelia Nixon is a descendant. Part of the family's oral tradition retold in furtive whispers, Nixon fleshes it out on the basis of the sparse records available. She tells the story exceptionally well and is particularly good when discussing the social, racial and political tensions in Reconstruction Maryland, officially a Northern state but chock full of Rebel sympathizers.
Nicholas had it coming. Bethrothed to Martha Jane, he puts her in a family way and then breaks off the engagement, even moves across state lines. He should not have returned to the scene of the crime. The result is a tragedy worthy of Shakespeare. Two lives destroyed. Nothing madder than a woman scorned.
Then comes the murder trial, a highlight of the movie. Law & Order: Bel Air. (The novel is structured in the same way: first, the crime; then the apprehension of the perpetrator; finally, the court room drama.) As a repentant Martha Jane is locked up, awaiting the trial, carpenters are hammering away outside building the scaffold. . .but let's not give away the ending.

This was a book club book. We frequently read historical fiction, and I always find it interesting- mostly because I found history in school really boring. This taught me a bit about the Civil War, and at the same time had a good storyline. Just about everyone in my book club gave it a B or B plus. I would recommend it.