The Union Quilters

Elm Creek Quilts #17

by Jennifer Chiaverini

In 1862 Water's Ford, Pennsylvania, abolitionism is prevalent, even passionate, so the local men rally to answer Mr. Lincoln's call to arms. Thus the women of Elm Creek Valley's quilting bee are propelled into the unknown. Constance Wright, married to Abel, a skilled sharpshooter courageous enough to have ventured south to buy his wife's freedom from a Virginia plantation, knows well her husband's certainty that all people, enslaved and free, North and South, need colored men like him to fight for a greater purpose. Sisters-in-law Dorothea Nelson and Charlotte Granger wish safe passage for their learned husbands. Schoolmaster turned farmer Thomas carries Dorothea's Dove in the Window quilt with him. Charlotte's husband, Dr. Jonathan Granger, takes more than a doctor's bag to his post at a field hospital. Alongside the devotion of his wife, pregnant with their second child, Jonathan brings the promise he made to his unrequited love, Gerda Bergstrom: "My first letter will be to you."

Together with the other members of the circle, the women support one another through loneliness and fear, and devise an ingenious business plan to keep Water's Ford functioning. That plan may forever alter the patchwork of town life in ways that transcend even the ultimate sacrifices of war.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Civil War, Quilting, Chick Lit, Audiobook

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Jennifer Chiaverini is the New York Times bestselling author of thirty-three novels, including acclaimed historical fiction and the beloved Elm Creek Quilts series. She has also written seven quilt pattern books inspired by her novels. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the University of Chicago, she lives with her husband and two sons in Madison, Wisconsin. About her historical fiction, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes, "In addition to simply being fascinating stories, these novels go a long way in capturing the texture of life for women, rich and poor, black and white, in those perilous years."

Reviews

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Right away The Union Quilters struck me as more of a stand alone historical fiction novel then an Elm Creek Quilts novel. Since I love historical fiction this is just fine (and lovely, and perfect) by me! If anything I would compare this book to The Sugar Camp Quilt by Chiaverini (hands down my favourite book in the series) as it wasn’t quite as light as the other Elm Creek Quilts books. The actual quilting theme was secondary in this novel and I found that the story really was focused upon the various battles in the civil war, the ones fought on the battlefield and off.

I found the story surrounding Able and Constance Write to be particularly interesting. Able was a free-born man in the North of the Union and Constance had been born into Slavery in the south having had her freedom purchased by Able. Able was desperate to fight for the union cause but was denied the opportunity time and time again. Constance was torn between supporting her husband’s desires to fight for the union and her need to have him safe at home with his family.

Another dynamic that I found to be complex was the relationship between Anneke and Hans. Hans being a staunch pacifist and Anneke a devoted Unionist who could not understand nor accept her husbands beliefs. She felt guilty and ashamed that while her friend’s husbands were fighting and dying for the Union, and while others like Able wanted to badly to fight for the cause but couldn’t, her husband was safe at home by his own choice.

The women who eventually formed The Union Quilters were deeply loyal to the Union cause and use their quilting ability to raise money for their local regiments and veterans as well as to supply quilts to various field hospitals. As much as it was a historical fiction novel about The Civil War, The Union Quilters was also a story of female strength, and the impact of war on those left at home. Many fans of the Elm Creek Quilts novels have complained that this book missed the mark but I think the opposite. The Union Quilters by Jennifer Chiaverini paints a sometimes horrifyingly vivid picture of the social context surrounding The Civil War and how women (many of them quilters) used their talents to support the Cause as well as the men who fought for it.

[LORI CASWELL · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1862 Water’s Ford, Pennsylvania is a busy place. Most of the men are off to war to fight for the Union. The woman are rallying to support the cause. They are holding fundraisers, sending bandages, food and supplies. They are using their needles to make quilts to send to hospitals. The also create a very special quilt that will reach out well beyond Water’s Ford.

Gerda Bergstrom takes on Southern sympathizers in the pages of the local newspaper. Anneke Bergstrom deals with her husband pacifist beliefs and does her best to hide her shame. Constance Wright supports her husband as he tries to enter the war effort despite the color of his skin.

The quilters anxiously await letters from their husbands, sons, and brothers which they share with each other at their circle meetings. The community is drawn together as they hope and pray the war will end soon and their men will return home soon. The woman are gaining a new independence that will “alter the patchwork of life in the Elm Creek Valley”.

Dollycas’s Thoughts
An incredible personal look at the Civil War through the eyes of the soldiers and women who wait at home. These gripping individual stories brought together through this powerful piece of fiction give us a very relate-able picture about how the war effected those in a fight to save the Union.

I truly enjoy when the author steps back into the past to give us the history of the Elm Creek Valley. The battle scenes were captivating to show the real rugged truth of battle. The men took on more of a roll in this story while the women also really emerged even stronger than in previous stories. I especially liked the part of the story about the quilt that went to the battlefield.

Chiaverini is a strong storyteller whether writing historical or contemporary fiction. If her name in on the cover you know you are assured to read a treasure.

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is definitely one of the better Elm Creek Quilters books although totally set in the past with no mention of Sylvia, Sarah and the other present day quilters.

I have read some of the other reviewers who thought that the descriptions of the battles, conditions in the field hospitals and other aspects of the war were too harshly portrayed. Not at all. Compared to what it probably really was like this was portrayed as a cake walk. Abraham Lincoln remarks, "If there is a place worse than hell, I am in it." Walt Whitman wrote, "Future years will never know the seething hell and the black infernal background of this war--and it is best they should not--the real war will never get in the books."

Enough quotes; I did enjoy the book tremendously and learned a few things about the era that I did not know. I'd never thought of the rest of Pennsylvania, for example, who feared they might be invaded in the aftermath of the Gettysburg Battle. And our brave heroes took action to prevent that from happening in Water's Ford and the Elm Creek Valley or at least to have some warning if it did happen.

I'm glad that the author did wrap things up at the end with a little history of each main character and what they did after the war. I am also very sorry for some of the losses of characters we will not see again if another book takes us to a post-Civil War setting.

[Kaye · Rating 2 out of 5]

Finally finished! So much of this book is dry as dust. Reads like a recitation on the civil war; too much "tell me" with not enough "show me" especially with the characters. I really only found a few paragraphs where I could tell what the character was truly feeling.

"But she could not overcome the dull lethargy that had settled upon her in the wake of -- death. (avoiding a spoiler) She could not bear to hear again how her husband was a hero, that he had died for a noble cause, and that her own sacrifice had ennobled her as his black-clad widow. He had died a hero's death, and for that reason her loss was a public one; it belonged to the town, to the nation. Other women might have found strength and solace in that, but she did not want to share her private grief with anyone. She wanted to be left alone to mourn."

That's still a lot of "tell me" writing but it's the best it gets.

Granted, it's interesting that the women who were left behind managed to do so much to raise money with their quilting for the troops and still manage to run the family farm or business. Their courage was immense but what choice did they have? I just wish it had been written a little more like fiction with deeper looks into each character and not quite as dryly.

I've read one other book in this Elm Creek Quilts series and enjoyed it a lot so unfortunately this was a little disapointing for me. Fans of Civil War fiction might very well appreciate it more than I did. 2.5 **

[Lisa Collins · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sorry but this story is just not that interesting. I thought I would enjoy it because I am a quilter. But it seems more geared to a civil war history buff. There were so many dates mentioned and news type information rather than story line.
I had to read the first chapter twice to get all the characters straight in my head. There were more than a dozen adult characters mentioned in the first chapter and then the children. It was just too much.
I also felt that the character, Gerda is unlikeable. I can't figure out why she is so bitter towards some of the other characters. Besides the fact that she is in love with someone else's husband.
For all you folks out there who like Jennifer Chiaverini I hope you enjoy this book more than I did. I guess I should just stick with Joyce Carol Oates and Barbara Kingsolver.
I won this book on Goodreads. Thank you to Goodreads and the publisher.(My young daughter has reminded me not to feel so bad about my honest review.)

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jennifer Chiaverini is definitely moving onto new ground - exploring different characters - Sylvia Compton's progenitors, back at the time of the Civil War. I like character studies and usually find myself very drawn to her characters. However, this book spends way too much time discussing military strategy and gives you plenty of potent images of the horror of war. And for the first time ever in Chiaverini's books, I didn't find her characters very likable. They were certainly flawed in pretty essential ways. The story was sad - I'm sure that virtually everything about the Civil War was sad, but I didn't find that the book was even true to it's back cover promises. It focused far more on battles of the war and it's outcomes in a couple particular families than on the quilting circle and their experiences. Go back to your tried and true characters and story lines, Jennifer.

[Barbara Nutting · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read 2011

[M]

Handicrafts are great. Sadly they are becoming lost arts and people move to things like digital design. But I am one of the people keeping them alive by practicing them. Another way that they are being kept alive is by the serge of popular novels that center around knitting clubs and quilters. We've all spotted them in book stores and at libraries and I've been reading a few that have been catching my eye. Most of them are light and fluffy, like Harlequin but if you trade sex for needlework. And normally the plot lines are a little less generic and predictable.

But one handicraft novel that I have particularly enjoyed is The Union Quilters by Jennifer Chaverini. It takes a few things that I love, multi perspective books, historical fiction, strong independent female characters, and quilting and put them into one handy dandy novel. The Union Quilters switches its narrator between a few women in a quilting club and their spouses and lovers. It is just at the beginning of the civil war and many of the men are enlisting. And to help their troops, the women make quilts to donate and also sell them for profit and then use the money to buy supplies for the soldiers. Something pretty new in those days.

The Union Quilters also isn't all happiness and cool patterns. Not all of the women that we grow to love through the course of the book have a happy ending. There is racism, unrequited love, hate, and pain. Just like the real world. Yes there are some cliches but then again there are lots of cliches out there. It seems like my life is full of them.

After I finished The Union Quilters I discovered that it was part of a series. So I am going to read all of them, because it was so enjoyable.

www.liveittothefullest.com

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had me poking my Civil War-buff husband constantly, asking him if the details, settings and attitudes *really* happened. Although I am just as much of a history nut as he is, his grasp of this era is beyond me. So he was surprised at how this "fiction" novel could set up these real events without making them seem just convenient plot devices--a criticism that generally steers him away from historical fiction in general, and makes *me* wish I'd just read a good nonfiction treatment of the period. I did not feel that way about this book.

My mother and I read this book at about the same time, discussing how much we admired the women and wondering aloud if *we* could be as resolute at banding together to make a community support network like the one in the book--the aid society that supported soldiers and their families during and after the war.

When a book can create this type of dialogue between people, I consider it a 5-star read that I want to recommend to others. I don't think you have to be familiar with the Elm Creek Quilt series to enjoy this novel, so it can be simply the starting point for anyone interested in American Civil War history, women's history, and/or quilting--take your pick, or pick them all.

[Mollie Matusick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love it! I love historical fiction, and this one was really good. It features strong but not superwoman type female characters, which I love. Set during the Civil War, it gives both the experiences of the men who went off to fight and those they left behind. There was one storyline that seemed to change from what was acknowledged by everyone throughout the entire book to the exact opposite at the end, that of Jonathan and Gerda, which kind of left me asking, "Wait, what?" but I think I understand the reasoning behind it, which would make it all the more heartbreaking. I won't go into it because that would be more than just a spoiler, I think. I've only read this one and The Runaway Quilt from the Elm Creek Quilters series, but I definitely want to read more. However, you certainly don't have to. The two I've read certainly can stand alone. In TRQ, a modern day descendant find Gerda's journal, and I had really hoped to have my question about her plotline with Jonathan answered, but it wasn't, unfortunately. While I have a possible explanation in my head, I would've liked to have it a bit more explained in the book, especially since Gerda was such an incredible character to read about.

[Ann Amadori · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really liked parts of this story but some of the military parts seemed to drag. The one thing that annoyed me was the continual description of Jonathan's integrity. I did not find his treatment of his wife and Gerda honorable at all.

[Laura Ballard · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I am in the mood for something fast and easy, I love to catch up on the Elm Creek Quilts series. THis one was great in that I had just ready another Civil War story. Someday I will learn to quilt .....

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great historical installment of the Elm Creek Quilters series.

[Erik · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm probably not the intended audience for a novel centered on a quilting circle in a small Pennsylvania town during the Civil War. "The Union Quilters" is part of a series called the Elm Creek Quilts, which I understand is popular especially among people who like quilting today, which does not happen to be one of my hobbies.

But after reading Chiaverini's "Mrs Grant and Madame Jule" as part of research on Ulysses and Julia Grant, I appreciated the author putting a woman front and center in what's usually told as a man's story. (Yes, I consult fiction in learning about history, less for facts than for context and atmosphere. I do try to remain vigilant, but most of the historical fiction I read is well researched).

I wanted to read "The Union Quilters" to see how Chiaverini centered more female characters in a story that's even more focused on men, the war itself. And since "Madame Jule" was as much the story of an enslaved Black woman as it was of her white mistress, told skillfully I thought, I was also eager to see if Chiaverini handled race so explicitly in her wartime story.

I was prepared for a story about women on the home front. And "The Union Quilters" did not disappoint. The ladies of the quilting circle of Water's Ford, Pennsylvania who start out in 1862 by saying goodbye to their men heading off to war and then coming up with ways to support them from home. They start by constructing a patriotic quilt made by many hands and auctioning it off as a fundraiser to send supplies to the troops. They end up building a performance and meeting hall and spinning off their quilt design across the North, becoming local philanthropists and national entrepreneurs. One politically minded character, Gerda, publishes patriotic opinion pieces in the town paper that gets her into a war of words with the editor of the region's local Copperhead newspaper.

These stories would be enough for a good sized novel. What surprised me was how Chiaverini didn't just stick to women on the home front but also wove in stories of those women's husbands, brothers and sons in the army and on the battlefield.

In its narrative of two of the town's sons who wind up fighting at the Battle of Gettysburg, Chiaverini's book compares well to Michael Shaara's 1974 novel "The Killer Angels," and its epic movie version, "Gettysburg." The movie version, clocking in at about four hours long and featuring a cast of dozens of actors and thousands of battle reenactors, lacked even a single speaking role for a female character. By contrast, Chiaverini's book, purportedly focused on women, offered lots of action by men too.

I don't think the film or Shaara's book are alone. Plenty of Civil War fiction from Stephen Crane to Ambrose Bierce is written by dudes, about dudes and for dudes, focusing on battles and featuring women on the side if they're lucky. Otherwise women are totally absent. William Faulkner is the notable exception among literary fiction writers, but his stories are less about battles than about the social consequences of the war. And in popular fiction, of course there's Margaret Mitchell. But her "Gone with the Wind" may be good entertainment but it's inaccurate history, distorted through the lens of Lost Cause propaganda.

Chiaverini seems to have done her Civil War history homework diligently, and her angle is the opposite of Mitchell's, focusing on the better cause of Union and freedom for slaves.

I'm no expert on Civil War fiction by women authors but if Chiaverini is any indication, then perhaps there's also more diversity of characters by sex? In her Civil War there's certainly more diversity by race than in Shaara's too.

Not to pick on the movie version again, but among of the thousands of white men on screen in "Gettysburg," there's exactly one Black character, who pops up right about half way through the film. He's a fugitive slave whose wounds are being tended by some of the Union troops. His appearance gives Col. Joshua Chamberlain an excuse to talk about the purpose of the war, but this one single Black character doesn't have any lines of his own.

Again, "Gettysburg" and Shaara's book are not alone in their apparent lack of interest in race even while they tell stories about a war fought about slavery. Many Civil War novels are not just penned by men, but by white men. They're about white men and presumably for white men. These books often forget about the Black enslaved people whom the war was largely about and they also forget the Black soldiers and sailors who contributed so substantially to the war's outcome. Abraham Lincoln himself said that the Union wouldn't not have won without help from 180,000 US Colored Troops and 19,000 Black men in the navy. They have been edited out of Civil War history and Civil War memory, including novels and movies, for too long.

One of Chiaverini's most interesting plot threads centers on a Black family in the town whose man is a sharpshooter who keeps trying to enlist in the Union Army but is refused because he's not white. Only after the Emancipation Proclamation can he get his wish to serve, participating in the siege of Petersburg and serving bravely at the Battle of the Crater.

Another part of the story concerns the Underground Railroad and an escaped mother who was captured and dragged back into slavery but not before she gave birth to a child who the slave catchers didn't know about and who was left behind in the care of the white townspeople. The next book in the series apparently deals with the fate of this mother in slavery and beyond.

Entertaining and historically credible, "The Union Quilters" does what every modern Civil War novel should do: It brings women and African Americans into a story that has for too long been too masculine and too white. At the same time, even while she tells a bigger, more interesting and more accurate story of the war, Chiaverini doesn't have to kick the white guys out of the tale. Chiaverini's authorial approach is not subtraction, but addition, and I'm grateful to her for it.

[Sally Lindsay-briggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

There was an internal debate over a rating for this Civil War novel. It really made the war very alarming, dangerous and all together realistic. It started out very slowly but garnered a great deal of suspense when one man was imprisoned. After that, the story flew by. Several women in this small Pennsylvania town met together to make quilts and sew necessary items for soldiers. They do much more than that to support the war efforts. The friendships made blossomed.

[Karen ReadsALot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historical fiction, Civil War and a tiny town in Pennsylvania as told mostly through female perspectives.

[Karen ReadsALot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Civil War history of the families living in a small Pennsylvania town. Told mostly from a female perspective.

[Jodi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the only book in the Elm Creek series that I haven't especially liked. It was confusing to start out since it had been awhile since I had read any of the other books that were about Gerda, Hans and Anneka so I had a hard time remembering who all the other characters were. There was also a ton of information about the Civil War. It was interesting to read some of the very vivid details but I just wasn't expecting this to read so much like a history book. I also found myself really disliking Gerda's character in this book as she continued to maintain her very strong friendship with Jonathon and hope that they would end up being together regardless of how it would make Charlotte feel or who knew about it. Finally, I was really looking forward to reading more about the modern day Elm Creek Quilters so it was disapointing to have this book be entirely set during the Civil War. Some of her other books have gone back and forth between present day and history about Sylvia's family but this one had nothing present day so I really missed that. I think I would have appreciated this book much more if I had gone into it anticipating a Civil War historical fiction book instead of looking at it as an Elm Creek Quilt book. It was too hard for me to change my expectations once I realized I wasn't going to get anything from present day.

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book The Union Quilters by Jennifer Chiaverini, the author gives a perspective of the Civil War from the perspective of a group of women and their menfolk, all residents of the small community of Water's Ford, Pennsylvania. Although the accounts of experiences in battles and imprisonment are interesting, I found the author's depiction of hte individual experiences fascinating. She describes through the experiences of a black man and his family the obstacles and prejudices that freeborn black men in northern states faced in their desire to fight for the Union. She also gives the perspective of those who refused to fight on the basis of their conviction that it was wrong to take up arms against others to kill. For anyone who enjoys reading about the Civil War, this is definitely one to read. Although she doesn't go into detail about quilting as much as in some of her other books, quilting still plays a part in the book because the main characters are either avid quilters or in close association with quilters. The quilters use their quilting skills to contribute to the Union cause. I thought the author did a great job of portraying the lives of both the women who had to stay behind and their men who went to the battlefield during the Civil War.

[Ariel Uppstrom · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've been on a Civil War kick and thought this would fit right in. The story followed a few members of quilting circle and their husbands and family during the Civil War. This unique group of women felt empowered to help the men of their down when the joined up by sewing quilts, knitting socks, and participating in fundraisers. Eventually, their endeavors led them to create a hall that they were able to maintain in their own name instead of it being overtaken by the all male town council. One of the main characters, Gerda, was the most interesting of the women. Her intelligent and strong-willed demeanor rang the most true of all the characters. I greatly admired her as she faced much gossip and hardship and fought for what was always right.
I think the story could have been better if it hadn't been divided into so many voices instead of sticking with one perspective. Sometimes I find books that have multiple narrators are too disjointed and distracting to really flow well and this was the case with "The Union Quilters". Overall, it was an okay book that kept me listening (since I reading it via audio book), but wasn't one that I would read again or pass around.

[Colleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a quilter I have enjoyed Jennifer Chiaverini's Elm Creek Quilters novels which revolve around a group of women who are drawn to each other because of their love of quilting and willingness to help others with quilting and with life’s challenges. The books are set in beautiful rural Pennsylvania and the original books sometimes refer to the history of the area. Along the way Jennifer Chiaverini spends more time writing about quilters in the past rather than the original group of women. The Union Quilters takes place, 150 years ago, during the Civil War. I thought this would be the perfect book to read between sessions of working on my Civil war reproduction quilt but I was disappointed in the story. It sometimes read more like nonfiction. Issues of women’s rights, civil rights, passive resistance, and more took center stage rather than being the backdrop for the women and their lives. This prevented me from connecting with women as I usually do in her novels. This was not my favorite Elm Creek Quilters novel.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I can say is.... OMG! How fantastic is this entire series?!

I have quite literally bought all of their hard back books, twice. I gave my fist set away to my son’s school. I also bought every single item they have in kindle format.

I have read through this entire series at least four times, and am on my way through the fifth time right now.

I have my own fully equipped sewing studio with all the toys, even the professional grade longarm, all to support my hobby. I will still do quilts by hand with needle, thread, pencil, and scissors, just to enjoy the quilt making like I find in the Elm Creek Quilt series. What can I say. I am an over 60 male fabric crafting fan who has been obsessed with quilting, sewing, and knitting, for my entire life.

This book is fantastic, and so are all the others! I really recommend them all.

...and yes, I have made several of the quilts from this series.

I also enjoy and recommend the Mrs. Lincoln’s dressmaker series and all of her oth books too.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Though I have read a few other books written by this author, I was very dissapointed with this one. As the sequal book to "The Sugar Camp Quilt", I was looking forward to the continuation of the story. However, not only did she she sort of switch main characters and skip about 12 years forward from the last book, but the content was more mature than my preference; a short but ill-liked marital scenaro, and a slave child posed as an illegitement child fathered by a married man and the brother of the main character from book #1. The story focused a lot around the emotional entanglements of the two women in love with this man, instead of as much about the history or the quilt.

And since the previous book didn't *really* involve much of a courtship story between the main characters, I was disappointed that she skipped so much of the afterward, having them already married and the husband leaving for the Civil War in the very first chapter. :/

[Jane Metcalf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fictionalized history, a favorite, with a cast of strong women reveal what day to day life could have been like during the Civil War. Set in a small Pennsylvania farming community, these women
shared a love of quilting and used this talent, along with intelligence and skills, to raise money to support Union war efforts and families sufferong losses. The author quoted President Lincoln on the cover page recognizing that "amongst these new manifestations nothing has been more remarkable than these fairs for relief of suffering soldiers and their families. And the chief agents in these fairs are the women of America."

[Catherine Petry · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Union Quilters

Yet another wonderful story by Jennifer Chiaverini! This insightful and moving story about our country’s Civil War to abolish slavery was at times difficult to read, but, it was also so heartfelt and inspiring as she portrayed her ongoing characters in their support of the soldiers and each of their neighbors through the tragedies that war can bring. Jennifer is known for doing exhaustive research for her novels that allow her to bring the reader into the story, and which allowed me as a reader the opportunity to learn some life lessons from her many varied and admirable characters.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I decided to read this book because I like the Elm Creek Quilts series. And most of the time, I prefer if the story sticks more to quilting than this one did. Also, I have never enjoyed anything about the Civil War time period. I don't like reading about it in fiction or non-fiction and, except for Gone with the Wind, don't like movies about it. This book, while not enough to overcome a lifetime aversion, was the first book about this time period I have enjoyed. It brought home how much people suffered, not just the soldiers and their families, but the country and the land itself.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love quilting as much as I do, you will love reading Jennifer Chiaverini's Elm Creek Quilt Series of novels. I've read most of her books and enjoyed them all. The Union Quilters is a second story focused on the Civil War. The first of this historical time period is "The Runaway Quilt". While the women work, hope, and pray at home, the men they love confront loneliness, boredom, and harrowing danger on the bloody battlefields of Virginia ad Pennsylvania. Anxious for news the women share precious letters around the quilting circle, drawing strength and comfort from each other.

[Traci Haley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may have been my favorite of the Elm Creek Quilt books yet, or at least one of my favorites! The entire story of Gerda, Annika, and Hans (and later, Joanne) has been a fascinating read. I feel like Jennifer Chiaverini does not shy away from what day-to-day life was like during this time period, especially during the Civil War and enslavement. This one made me ugly cry when ______ died because I didn't expect it to happen. I just love how it wrapped up so much of the historical tale of the Elm Creek valley!

[Dana Coates · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quilters

I thoroughly enjoy Jennifer Chiaverini. Every novel she has written. From California wine country, women marching for the cause of the women's right to vote. I felt like I was living in the quilting series. I miss Sylvia. Now writing of Gerda! Knowledge of quilts their purpose in an unfortunate era in our history. I trust the detailed well written novels will pick back up from Gerda to Sylvia. A clean captivating read.

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book better than I thought I would. The characters are very well-developed and it was not at all predictable. It was an interesting look at the lives of women in a small Pennsylvania town during the Civil War with several passages depicting their men's experiences in battle (Gettysburg and Petersburg).