Southern Cross [Hardcover]

Madeline Montgomery Dale (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1998

In a war-torn America, the Confederate South desperately tries to hold its own against the stronger forces of the North. Throughout this bitter time, the Crossways family struggles to survive in a country ravaged by war and confused by blurred social and moral issues. Based on actual events in the conflict deemed the bloodiest of all American wars.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

The late Madeline Montgomery Dale was born and raised in the Chicago area. She was a graduate of Shimer College, having majored in history, literature, and art. In her early career she was a photographic model for two important modeling agencies in Chicago, appearing in many ads for major companies such as Coca-Cola, Doublemint Gum, etc. Chances are that many who read her book today also saw her in some of the magazines and other publications that carried these ads. She married Robert C. Dale and together they raised a family of three boys. Her husband's business brought them to Minneapolis and later the Boston area, where they lived until his retirement.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Galde Press, Inc.; 1st edition (May 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1880090619
• ISBN-13: 978-1880090619
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,048,637 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A gentle and genteel story of a family during the Civil War, March 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Southern Cross (Hardcover)

Southern Cross by Madeline M. Dale is a gentle and genteely written story of Mrs. Dale's Kentucky forebears during the War between the States. Apart from the fact that it is a superb "read", drawing a reader eagerly from chapter to chapter to see what happens next, it also rewards the reader with fresh insights and glimpses into historical facts.

Adult readers can appreciate this novel; in addition it has appeal for young readers. I particularly rejoiced to find it one that might be recommended for secondary school reading lists. As the English curriculum specialist for a number of years for the forty secondary schools in Palm Beach County, Florida, I collaborated with heads of the English departments to develop recommended reading lists for each grade (and skills) level of our unified curriculum. The task was not simple, as you can imagine, cofronting not only a mutiplicity of teachers' opinions and students' diverse reading abilities and preferences, but also the sometimes censorious judgements of individuals in the community. Without hesitation, I would urge that Mrs. Dale's Southern Cross be included in school reading lists.

Books bring understanding of people, places and times apart from our own sphere. The people in Mrs. Dale's novel are worth coming to know--foregrounded against the tug-of-war between their everyday subsistence, loyalty to home, and moral sensibilty, and the burden of slavery. I recommend it highly.

5.0 out of 5 stars Civil War historical novel based on true incidents., September 30, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Southern Cross (Hardcover)

A story based on facts as remembered by the great granddaughter of a tobacco farmer in rural Kentucky. An intimate account of the thoughts, purposes and struggles of one family facing the brutality of being torn apart by a national conflict that bled the nation. A personal account of slavery and how people who opposed it coped with being slave owners themselves, the cross that many Southerners had to bear. After the war they could not vote, could get no financial help and had no rights. There was no Marshall Plan for the South. Birth, death, war, prison, financial ruin, and a new start reveal life as it was in the 19th century in America's heartland.