Abandoned by her husband, who runs away to fight for the Yankees during the Civil War, and ostracized by her family for his actions, Tennessee woman Elizabeth Allen Cocker is forced to raise her baby alone.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Fine characterization and an action-packed plot overcome the stylistic problems of this first novel set in Frisbin, Tenn., at the outset of the Civil War. When narrator Liz Ann Allen marries handsome Joe Crocker, his impulsive decision to enlist in the Union Army leads most of the town, including Liz Ann's family, to label her an enemy. She and her infant daughter are rescued from starvation by prominent social renegade Ama Hadley, in whose household she finds refuge and unconventional friendships with black women. Raped by her maimed husband's murderers, Liz Ann eventually goes on trial for shooting one of them. Readers will sympathize with the central female characters--especially since the brutality of many of the male characters is graphically portrayed--but Eulo chronicles their experiences with an unsure hand. Her rendering of Southern dialect is effective only intermittently, and passages of openly sexual dialogue seem anachronistic in the mouths of women of that period. Nonetheless, the lively blend of several genres--historical fiction, romance, courtroom drama and western--makes for an entertaining narrative.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Historical fiction, romance, and courtroom drama are combined in this engrossing story of a Tennessee woman by novelist Eulo ( Ice Orchids , Berkley, 1983). Liz Ann Crocker, whose husband, Joe, joins the Union Army, is shunned by the town for his disloyalty. She is befriended by a wealthy woman, Ama, who offers Liz and her baby the companionship of her unconventional household, which includes free black women. Joe Crocker returns maimed and broken in spirit. Then Joe is killed and Liz raped when a band of marauding Southerners break into the house. To protect her baby, Liz kills one of them. She is apprehended and tried for murder. An accurate portrayal of the lives of Southern women--poor farmers' wives, rich socialites, and black servants--during the Civil War era, this is recommended for both general readers and informed readers of historical fiction.
- Florence Scarinci, Nassau Community Coll. Lib., Garden City, N.Y.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Florence Scarinci, Nassau Community Coll. Lib., Garden City, N.Y.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Interesting Read,
By A Customer
This review is from: A Southern Woman (Hardcover)
This book was quite interesting. The characters seemed very real. The battle scenes actually had me cringing. I was quite taken by the book. I would highly recommend it to anyone!
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