The Union Quilters
Mar 22, 2011
Author: Jennifer Chiaverini
Publisher: Dutton
Publication Date: February 22, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-52595203-9
A very well written story. Clean writing, to-the-point yet full of descriptions of the characters and events that are occurring. I enjoy this type of storytelling very much.
This book shares the stories of several women left behind when their husbands go off to fight the Civil War. Okay, I admit, they're all Union, but parts of the book were set in Virginia and I'm sure families on both sides of the war were experiencing similar issues and emotions so I went forward with the review.
The main characters are four women who join the quilting group to help send warm blankets to the soldiers as they fight. Dorothea's husband is an adviser to President Lincoln and had to go, even though he was well over the age to fight. Constance's husband isn't excepted into the army though he desperately wants to fight. Though a freeman, the Union won't put a black man into the middle of fighting. Anneke fights the embarrassment of her husband refusing to fight for personal reasons. Finally, there is Gerda, who takes a stand against Southern sympathizers and faces her own dangers.
Together these woman try their best to help their community stand firm and strong, to thrive even as war descends down on them and their fear for their lives, livelihood and men.
Again, a very nicely written book that I quite enjoyed.
