"The Widow of the South" by Robert Hicks

This historical fiction pulls you in slowly, but inescapably. Hicks' style of prose reminds me of Charles Dickens. He uses a lot of detail and verbose descriptions and, while I was reading, I couldn't help but think that no one really analyzes their own feelings in that way. Yet, the minute details are absolutely essential to convey the depth of feelings of these real-life characters. And, that is what this book is about... the sentiments and emotions ravaged by life and conflict, especially during the time of our nation's internal rage against itself... the Civil War.

It tells the story of how a senseless and bloody battle which sealed the fate of the Confederacy just may have helped a woman already damaged by irreconcilable loss to find her sanity and her destiny. The true story of how Carnton, her plantation home, became the largest privately held Confederate Cemetery in the U.S. and the final resting place for 1,500 casualties from the Battle of Franklin, is one of determination, honor and redemption, told from a viewpoint of feelings and thoughts of Carrie MaGavock and the people who made up her world. Thought to be insane, unable to find meaning of her life, Carrie begins a painful journey of understanding the mysterious fragility of life by recognizing the unexplainable inevitability of death.

Before delving into the book, I recommend reading a synopsis of the history of the Battle of Franklin, a conflict fraught with failure from the firing of the first shot to the unimaginable number of casulaties at the conclusion. It will help set the scene and the mood of the entire story, while every character searches for the reasons for survival. Is it truly just luck, or is it destiny?