In 1894 Carrie McGavock is an old woman who has only her former slave to keep her company....and the almost 1,500 soldiers buried in her backyard. Years before, rather than let someone plow over the field where these young men had been buried, Carrie dug them up and reburied them in her own personal cemetery. Now, as she walks the rows of the dead, an old soldier appears. It is the man she met on the day of the battle that changed everything. The man who came to her house as a wounded soldier and left with her heart. He asks if the cemetery has room for one more.

In an extraordinary debut novel, based on a remarkable true story, Robert Hicks draws an unforgettable, panoramic portrait of a woman who, through love and loss, found a cause. Known throughout the country as “the Widow of the South,: Carrie McGavock gave her heart first to a stranger, then to a tract of hallowed ground – and became a symbol of a nation’s soul.

The novel flashes back thirty years to the afternoon of the Battle of Franklin, five of the bloodiest hours of the Civil War. There were 9,200 casualties that fateful day. Carrie’s home – the Carnton plantation – was taken over by the Confederate army and turned into a hospital; four generals lay dead on her back porch; the pile of amputated limbs rose as tall as the smoke house. And when a wounded soldier name Zachariah Cashwell arrived and awakened feelings she had thought long dead, Carrie found herself inexplicably drawn to him despite the boundaries of class and decorum. The story that ensues between Carrie and Cashwell lis just as unforgettable as the battle from which it is drawn.

Jezebel's Opinion: Rating 4 1/2 Stars

In his debut novel, Robert Hicks provides us with an extensive and riveting look at a woman who finds her purpose in life through the upheaval of her world during the Civil War. We are shown the supportive and active role women filled during these turbulent times in this story that is both loving and horrific at the same time.

The author has put literary license to good use in this story by flawlessly combining fact and fiction. In many other historical fiction novels based on true events, you tend to see that line between truth and fiction, however Mr. Hicks has managed to blur that line with the intensity in which he has created all of the characters in this book, both fictional and real. It is hard to see where truth ends and the fabrication begins.

Written from the viewpoint of multiple characters on both sides of the war, a major subplot in this novel is regarding faith, the will to live or die, and the dire circumstances of man's instincts and outlook on humanity during and after battle. While the story can become a bit tedious with the internal dialogue of the characters' (especially Carrie's) personal/psychological conflict, it is still warranted in the need to understand Carrie's psyche and her motivation with her cemetery.

I give my compliments to the author for his ability to bring these events to life in this exquisitely written novel. This is a must-read for the Civil War buffs out there, as well as for those who are looking for a gripping look at the history behind our country.

BookWhore's Opinion: Rating 5 Stars

For a debut novel Robert Hicks has done an amazing job of showing us both the terror and the beauty inherent in war. Yes, I said beauty. Through all the blood and fire this one woman emerges as an angel, ministering to the wounded and dying with all the grace that the South prided itself on.

Carrie McGavock was just a girl when she came to Carnton, married to a man she had known her whole life. She proceeded to give birth to five children and buried three. The death of her children pushed Carrie in a deep melancholy and borderline madness. When the war showed up on her doorstep Carrie pulled herself out of her fascination with death and took charge in a way that even her husband didn't expect. The deep and abiding attachment she would develop to one of the soldiers would stay with her always.

The story is written from multiple point of view which is a little hard to follow at first. It works well though. It shows you from beginning to end how the war affected different people, from different walks of life, who found thenselves together on one of the bloodiest battlefields of the Civil War. I found myself drawn into the push-pull relationship of Carrie and Zachariah and the feelings that developed between them. I was also highly impressed that the author chose to keep their relationship chaste. Even with all the turmoil a true Southern lady would not have allowed herself to be tumbled like a milkmaid in the stables and the author held true to this. It made the story all that much more believeable and heartwarming. Not to mention the fact that the author includes a section at the end with portraits of Carrie and her family. That small section served to drive everything home for me.

I say bravo to Robert Hicks. As a Southerner myself I was proud of Carrie and her dedication to these "forgotten boys". She saw her duty and worked to make sure each and every one would be remembered and he brought this forth in vivid relief. He showed us that war can have beauty and mercy and that there will always be someone who will carry the flame of the sacrifices that were made.
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Publisher: Warner Books; Reprint edition (September 26, 2006)
ISBN: 0446697435
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