New titles about the American Civil War

The first national observance of Memorial Day occurred on May 30, 1868. Then known as Decoration Day, the holiday was proclaimed to honor the Union soldiers who had died in the Civil War. Here are reviews of three excellent books which deal with the Civil War time period.

WIDE AWAKE is a newly published book by Jon Grinspan who is Curator of Political History at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Grinspan’s love of history and his devotion to scholarship shines through as he relates steps in his research on “The Forgotten Force that Elected Lincoln and Spurred the Civil War.” I was intrigued by his comments of looking into newspaper databases and was able to locate over one hundred and fifty front page newspaper articles from 1860 or earlier about this paramilitary group. They wore uniforms, had banners with a wide-open eye (see image of certificate below), marched (often with torches), and widely supported Lincoln and other Republicans in the 1860 election. Almost all ended up eventually joining the Union forces. Commenting on the echoes of history, and this “grassroots force pushing elite leaders into action,” Grinspan writes that the “Wide Awakes of 1860 wrestled with the same forces -- mass democracy, public protest, free speech, political violence, slavery, and race -- that we grapple with today.” Booklist gave WIDE AWAKE a starred review and Kirkus describes his well-written text as “a welcome study of an overlooked aspect of the Civil War and the events leading up to it.” Extensive notes and references comprise roughly twenty percent of this text.

THE AGITATORS by Dorothy Wickenden (Nothing Daunted) is about “three friends who fought for abolition and women's rights.” Readers may be familiar with stories about Harriet Tubman, a famous underground railroad conductor, but are likely less well-versed about Martha Coffin Wright, a Quaker (and sister to Lucretia Mott) who criticized Lincoln’s position on slavery and organized women’s rights conventions with Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The third member of the trio is Frances Seward; as the wife of Governor, then Senator, and then Secretary of State William H. Seward, her influence was often largest behind the scenes. The three friends lived in Auburn, New York and Wickenden traces their efforts from the 1820s onward through 1875 in a detail-filled text. Her afterward, extensive notes, and selected bibliography together comprise at least a fourth of the book. THE AGITATORS received starred reviews from Library Journal (“Filling a gap in the telling of women's and abolitionist history, this highly readable book gives these three women their due.”) and Publishers Weekly (“an essential addition to the history of American progressivism”).

Finally, THE DEMON OF UNREST by Erik Larson (The Splendid and the Vile) is subtitled “A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War” and the best-selling author definitely chronicles the exploits of some unsavory characters. For example, Larson recounts James Henry Hammond’s sexual abuse of his nieces and subsequent selection to Federal office, serving as Senator for South Carolina. Often commenting on other parallels to today’s headlines, Larson writes, “I had the eerie feeling that present and past had merged. It is unsettling that in 1861 two of the greatest moments of national dread centered on the certification of the Electoral College vote and the presidential inauguration.” This text, too, is extensively researched with approximately twenty percent devoted to a lengthy bibliography and detailed notes. THE DEMON OF UNREST did receive starred reviews from Booklist and Publishers Weekly. While highly regarded, it did not feel as compelling as earlier works by Larson, however.

Horse by Geraldine Brooks

HORSE by Geraldine Brooks came out today and it is the top candidate for my favorite book of the year. The Pulitzer Prize winning author has skillfully used the history of a famous racehorse to interweave the stories of nineteenth century enslaved people with modern day race relations. Sport, art, science, war, and mystery all play a part in this fascinating saga with portions set in the mid-1800s, in 1950s New York art world, and in Washington, D.C. in 2019. Early in the novel, Brooks introduces Jess who works at the Smithsonian and contemplates the vast storage area which “also held the things people had created – the finest examples of the artistry and the ingenuity of our own species. How could we be so creative and so destructive at the same time?” That theme repeats throughout the book; for example, in the tension between beauty and abuse of the thoroughbreds, and certainly, for her human characters, in the privileges conveyed by class and/or race.  In a time before photography, gentlemen often paid to have their horses painted and it is amazing how Brooks brings the stories of the owners, artists, trainers, and groomsmen alive. In HORSE, she focuses on a slave named Jarret, a youngster in 1850 when the foal Darley, later known as Lexington, was born. Together, the two travel from Kentucky to New Orleans to New York and ultimately back to Kentucky winning races and astounding fans. HORSE received starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus, and Library Journal and is a text which could easily be added to the curriculum, particularly for American Studies, or alternate with The Invention of Wings, another personal favorite. Book groups, too, will thoroughly enjoy discussing Brooks’ latest - here are the questions from the Reader’s Guide provided by Penguin. Highly recommended.

All that She Carried by Tiya Miles

ALL THAT SHE CARRIED by Tiya Miles is subtitled “The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake.” For some reason, I pictured this as a companion to the award-winning Rachel Field’s Hitty: Her First One Hundred Years. No; ALL THAT SHE CARRIED is a non-fiction work written by a MacArthur Foundation fellowship recipient who is currently a professor of history at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. The text is more scholarly and adult oriented, although it, too, uses an object to convey history: Rose gave the sack to her daughter, Ashley, in the 1850s when the then nine-year-old was sold to a different owner. Miles unflinchingly relates stories of slavery, family separation and connection, Reconstruction, and the Great Migration, focusing in part on a great-granddaughter who embroidered the sack with its story in the 1920s. ALL THAT SHE CARRIED received starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus, Library Journal (noting “YA crossover appeal”), and Publishers Weekly.  Read or listen to an excerpt on the publisher’s site. 

The Book of Lost Friends and Furmidable Foes

I have not yet read Lisa Wingate’s best seller Before We Were Yours, but I had heard positive comments so I was excited to read her newest work of historical fiction, THE BOOK OF LOST FRIENDS.  Set mostly in Louisiana, this novel alternates between events of 1875 and 1987. Just after the Civil War, recently freed Hannie disappears with Juneau Jane and Miss Lavinia, half-sisters whose father is Hannie’s former owner. It is a perilous journey with Hannie pretending to be a boy as the three of them travel West. Interspersed between chapters are reproductions from Southern papers of “Lost Friends” columns humbly and movingly seeking missing loved ones. Closer to modern day, the story features Benny Silva, a young teacher struggling to make school engaging for her students. She says, “Books were the escape hatch that carried me away during long lonely times …. Books made me believe that smart girls who didn’t necessarily fit in with the popular crowd could be the ones to solve mysteries, rescue people in distress, ferret out international criminals, fly spaceships to distant planets, take up arms and fight battles. … Books built my identity. I want that for my students.” I especially liked the modern story with Benny’s optimism and the work she did to help make the past relevant for the class and the town.  A LibraryReads selection, THE BOOK OF LOST FRIENDS will be welcomed by Wingate’s many fans. 

Another new book which alternates time periods (1788 and 2019) is FURMIDABLE FOES by Rita Mae Brown. Loyal readers will recognize this as another fun Mrs. Murphy mystery (book 29) featuring cats named Pewter and Mrs. Murphy, plus corgi Tee Tucker and a new wolfhound pup named Pirate. Harry Harristeen, best friend Susan Tucker, and other members of the Dorcas Guild are into gardening and beautifying the local church’s property until one of them is killed at a charity event. I generally like these light, cozy mysteries and read this one in an afternoon, but found it to be a bit disappointing.  My personal preference would be to stick to the modern story and that was reinforced in this case due to the historical tale of slave catchers that did not seem to have any real resolution.  From her references to many characters in the past, my impression is that Brown is trying to build two worlds: Harry’s in the present day and one in post-colonial Virginia. Frankly, that means too many details (there is a five page “Cast of Characters”) for the reader – looking for escapist entertainment – to track.