By Robert Hicks
Warner Books
Hardcover, Audio CD (Abridged) and Large Print Editions

Hicks paints a poignant picture of those civilians who were left to watch during the Civil War, as well as those who were soldiers - but also ordinary men.

Carrie McGavock is a haunted woman. Three of her children dead, she wanders the halls of her rambling plantation home, Carnton, with only her two remaining children, her faithful slave Mariah and a large bottle of laudanum for company.

The Widow of the South Excerpt Let your child be wasted on purpose, with someone else’s blessing and approval and then talk to me of your sacrifice. I will not let those men who ran that war and those of you who stood by and let it go until it was too late to stop, escape into this new age without penalty. ©2005 Robert Hicks Published with permission from Warner Books

Her husband, John, is always away trying to gain favor with the bankers with whom he traded his house and land for a loan to feed and clothe Confederate troops.

One fateful day, a Confederate General arrives with the news that the war is coming to Carnton and the house will be requisitioned as a military hospital. Carrie is thrust into caring for sick, wounded and dying soldiers and comes to understand what it means to live - and to die.

Bookworm's Briefing
Hicks paints a brilliant picture of the ordinary people behind a war. Set in Civil War times, the emotions and situations he presents are all applicable to those involved in a war at any point in time. Although a bit dry at times with trivia, the novel stands out as an affecting look “behind the scenes” of the War.