The Widow of the South (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "That day in 1864 was unseasonably mild for late November..." (more)
Key Phrases: Zachariah Cashwell, Miss Carrie, General Forrest (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In an Author's Note at the end of his book The Widow of the South, Robert Hicks tells us that "when Oscar Wilde made his infamous tour of America in 1882, he told his hosts that his itinerary should include a visit to 'sunny Tennessee to meet the Widow McGavock, the high priestess of the temple of dead boys.'" Carrie McGavock, The Widow of the South, did indeed take it upon herself to grieve the loss of so many young men in the battle of Franklin, Tennessee, which took place on November 30, 1864. Nine thousand men lost their lives that day. She and her husband John eventually re-buried on their own land 1,481 Confederate soldiers killed at Franklin, when the family that owned the land on which the original shallow graves had been dug decided to plow it under and put it into cultivation.

Before the battle begins, Carrie's house is commandeered for a field hospital and all normal life is suspended. Carrie is anything but normal, however. She has buried three children, has two living children she pays little attention to, has turned the running of the house over to her slave, Mariah, and spends her time dressed in black walking around in the dark or lying down lamenting her loss. She is a morbid figure from the outset but becomes less so as the novel progresses. The death going on all around her shakes her out of her torpor, but death is definitely her comfort zone.

One of the soldiers who is treated at the house is Zachariah Cashwell, who loses his leg when Carrie sends him to surgery rather than watch him die. They are inextricably bound in some kind of a spiritual dance from then on. Their reasons for being drawn to each other are inexplicable, apparently, because they remain unexplained, and when Cashwell tells Carrie he loves her, she beats him nearly to death because she loves him too. At least, that is the reason Hicks gives. He violates that first caveat given to all writers: "show us, don't tell us." There is doubtless something deeply flawed in Carrie and screamingly symbolic about her behavior; it is surely elusive. Too bad, because Carrie was a real person whom Hicks lauds for her compassion and ability to grieve without end. Then, he throws in this gratuitous "love story" and confuses the issue. Carrie's relationship with her husband and children remains unexamined. Hicks is better at describing death and "the stink of war" than he is at life. If you read War and Peace and loved all the war parts and were bored senseless by the peace parts, this is your cup of tea. --Valerie Ryan

From Publishers Weekly

Hicks's big historical first novel, based on true events in his hometown, follows the saga of Carrie McGavock, a lonely Confederate wife who finds purpose transforming her Tennessee plantation into a hospital and cemetery during the Civil War. Carrie is mourning the death of several of her children, and, in the absence of her husband, has left the care of her house to her capable Creole slave Mariah. Before the 1864 battle of Franklin, Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest commandeers her house as a field hospital. In alternating points of view, the battle is recounted by different witnesses, including Union Lt. Nathan Stiles, who watches waves of rebels shot dead, and Confederate Sgt. Zachariah Cashwell, who loses a leg. By the end of the battle, 9,000 soldiers have perished, and thousands of Confederates are buried in a field near the McGavock plantation. Zachariah ends up in Carrie's care at the makeshift hospital, and their rather chaste love forms the emotional pulse of the novel, while Carrie fights to relocate the buried soldiers when her wealthy neighbor threatens to plow up the field after the war. Valiantly, Hicks returns to small, human stories in the midst of an epic catastrophe. Though occasionally overwrought, this impressively researched novel will fascinate aficionados.
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; Stated First Edition edition (August 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446500127
• ISBN-13: 978-0739458433
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (120 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #46,549 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Meandering Look at the Battle of Franklin, October 2, 2005

By	Tamela Mccann "taminator1" (Nashville, TN USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This novel's premise intrigued me because I live close to Franklin, Tennessee, and have learned a good deal about the Battle of Franklin in recent years. McGavock is a well-known name around Nashville, which added to my interest. I eagerly picked this book up and dived in, prepared to meet the main characters and learn more about the battle and its aftermath, and previous reviews made the book that much more appealing. However, as I read, I found myself disappointed in the actual retelling of the battle itself; I was hoping for more action and deeper characterizations. The plot meanders between points of view and Carrie McGavock's motivations are particularly difficult to understand. On a personal level, I could delve into her darkness of depression over the loss of her children, but since it was a common occurrence in the mid 1800s, I found it a bit over-the-top. Her feelings for Zachariah are not in character and are never believable. Mariah is a strong character who never achieves her own voice and a few of the side stories seem forced as well. The novel finally achieves its goals in the last 100 pages as the focus for Carrie becomes clear and her determination shows. Hicks has a wonderful way with words but he needs to show the why of his characters rather than letting them stew in their own juices for much of the story. Overall this is a good book, but not as compelling as I'd hoped.

85 of 104 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great History; Poor Plot, August 31, 2005

By	B. Merritt "filmreviewstew.com" (WWW.FILMREVIEWSTEW.COM, Pacific Grove, California United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Widow of the South (Audio CD)

It is November 30th, 1864, and Carrie McGavick's Franklin, Tennessee plantation home is in a terrible spot. The Confederates and Unionists are about to have a major battle engagement only a mile from Mrs. McGavick's house, and Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest has commandeered her home as a field hospital.

Mrs. McGavick - later to become known as THE WIDOW OF THE SOUTH - is in mourning over the death of three of her children during a typhoid epidemic. And she spends most of her time in bed letting Mariah, a Creole slave, run the household. But the days of mourning her children come to an abrupt end as she must come to grips with the death of 9,000 soldiers in a single day, and care for the wounded whom blanket every square inch of her floors.

One of the injured is a tough and vocal man named Zachariah Cashwell, a Confederate nobody. During the day's bloodshed, Mr. Cashwell did an incredibly brave, heroic, stupid, and suicidal thing: After the color-bearer is killed, he picks up the flag and marches toward the enemy as they shoot at him. But he doesn't receive a scratch. Only after being captured and attempting to escape is he given a near mortal wound from a gunshot. Then he's taken to Mrs. McGavick's field hospital to recover or die. Here the two (McGavick and Cashwell) meet and clash ...and eventually fall in love, even after Mr. Cashwell's leg is amputated. Even though Carrie McGavick is married.

What follows is a denying of love, a race to save the graves of those who are buried outside of the McGavick home, and a woman who discovers her purpose in life: to honor the memory of those "boys" who died that day.

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This is Mr. Hicks' first novel and, luckily, he's chosen to write a historical fiction story. He must have poured over tons of information and had great difficulty deciding what to place in the book and what not to. Thankfully, he's chosen to write about the actual battle. And his prose during these scenes is topnotch; he can describe bloodshed and waste and near insanity and giving up and hanging on, in one graceful paragraph.

Where Mr. Hicks has fallen down is plotting. Although this story sheds light on a little known Civil War battle that incurred horrendous losses, it didn't seem to have a point. The love story between Mr. Cashwell and Mrs. McGavick (which takes up a large portion of the book) is never explored or explained. Why did they fall in love in the first place? We don't know.

The story seemed to meander between the battle, the hospital, Mrs. McGavick, Mr. Cashwell, General Forrest, and two other lovers whom we only see fleetingly. I mean, I felt kind of lost, as if I were wondering around a story with no aid from the author.

But even so, this book will likely be held in high regard by historical enthusiasts as more light is shed upon THE WIDOW OF THE SOUTH.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Carrie McGavock, August 30, 2005

By	A. Owen (Franklin, TN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The `Widow of the South' will bring Carrie McGavock's story to people who have never heard of this remarkable person. As a young, high spirited woman, she sat for a portrait wearing black, certainly not the done thing at the time. Ironically, black becomes the color of her life. She knows firsthand the loss of three beloved children and treats all the dead boys from the battle that raged outside her home as if they were her own.

One of the most touching parts of the book is the true story about a Georgia family who traveled to Tennessee to bring their dead son home from Carrie's cemetery. After seeing how she lovingly cared for him, they decided to leave him in Tennessee returning only to bring Georgia dirt from their farm for his resting place.

One read of this book is not enough.