Tara Revisited: Women, War, & the Plantation Legend [Hardcover]

Catherine Clinton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1995

Drawing from a wealth of poignant letters, diaries, slave narratives, and other accounts, the author provides a vivid social and cultural history of the diverse communities of southern women during the Civil War. Photographs, drawings, prints and other period illustrations bring this buried chapter of Civil War history to life--from the cotton fields to the slave cabins.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Letters, diaries, slave narratives, and southern literature retrace the steps of the women of the American South in this historical volume. Filled with photographs, Tara Revisited present the facts and fiction behind such southern icons as Scarlett O'Hara, Mrs. Butterworth, Clara Barton, and others who were plantation mistresses, slaves, city dwellers, and even soldiers. Clinton brings to life the joy and suffering of women in both black and white communities, beginning with antebellum society, continuing through the Reconstruction era, and ending with the present day. The final chapter, "The Road to Tara," discusses the Southern Belle, the Southern Mammy, and the implications of our fascination with those figures from a past which may or may not have existed only in our minds and our movies. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From Library Journal

Historian Clinton (who has taught at Harvard, Brandeis, and Brown) returns to the Civil War South, scene of her Divided Houses: Gender and the Civil War (LJ 9/15/92) and The Plantation Mistress: Woman's World in the Old South (LJ 11/15/82). Although not as richly detailed as either of those earlier works, Tara Revisited is valuable for its segue into the postwar mythology of the Lost Cause-a mythology that affected countless books and films. Clinton's thorough knowledge of her subject, reliance on primary sources, and lively style all render the book accessible to any reader wanting a brief introduction to Southern women-both black and white-of the period. Libraries collecting Southern or women's history will want this title, and others should consider; see also Elizabeth Fox-Genovese's study, Within the Plantation Household: Black and White Women in the Old South (LJ 12/88).
Donna L. Cole, Leeds P.L., Ala.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Abbeville Press; 1st edition (March 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558594914
• ISBN-13: 978-1558594913
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,575,558 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars not convincing, December 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Tara Revisited: Women, War, & the Plantation Legend (Paperback)

Tara Revisited is an only marginally convincing portrait of the "real" southern woman. Clinton successfully debunks the myth of the Old South, yet fails to put in its place a convincing and thorough discussion of the real lives of these women.

Clinton, in refuting the popular myth of the "southern belle," does put up her own model for the southern lady. But this model depends little on how these women actually lived and what they really though; rather she consistently insists on painting women in an overly noble and (still) idealized way.

If you are looking for a good history and examination of women during the American Civil War, try "Mothers of Invention" by Drew Gilpin Faust. It is immensely more satisfying than Clinton's depiction.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, June 10, 2009

By 

Anne Hawley (Incirlik Air Base) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tara Revisited: Women, War, & the Plantation Legend (Paperback)

I purchased this book at the Gettysburg NPS bookstore and was very anxious to begin reading it...however after only a few pages the author's bias and dislike of all things southern was glaring obvious to me. I am certainly not looking to have the past whitewashed, but I feel like the title is very misleading. After 97 pages of reading, I have gathered very little information about women and planation life.... The only recommendation I can give this book is that it is peppered with some great photographs.

7 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Factual Alternative to a Myth, October 20, 1999

By 

Joel M Sax - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tara Revisited: Women, War, & the Plantation Legend (Paperback)

Southerners carry a chip on their shoulder when it comes to the Lost Cause, so any book which attempts to set the record straight is an exercise in masochism, certain to be fired upon by those weened on Plantation Mythology. Clinton investigates the development of the "Tara Mystique", that belief that plantation life consisted of happy slaves working for the love of the masters and mistresses. She both dispels this legend and defends the character of Southern womanhood during the Civil War and afterwards. Those who want their ancestors to be demigods will hate this book. Those who want to demonize Southern forebears will find it too light. Those who are willing to confront history as a record made by human beings will enjoy this book and ask for more.