Blue Hurricane

Civil War #2

by F. Van Wyck Mason

When Brother Fought Brother...From the granite cliffs of New England to the lust Mississippi delta, Americans shouldered their muskets and marched off to war. And Matt Hovey of Maine was no exception. He had sworn he would not fight, resolved not to soil his hands with his brother's blood, but even Matt Hovey could not withstand the tide of the times.Turned fugitive by a sudden, shocking murder to avenge his mother's unspoken shame, Matt fled to St. Louis and the perilous unprincipled world of blockade running. But the sight of Phoebe Widden, the innocent young girl he loved and left, trapped in the lecherous web of the war profiteers shocks Matt to action.He must defend the woman and the land he loves. On a Union ironclad in the thick of Grant's great Mississippi offensive, Matt tests his daring and his dedication.The victory of the great River War marks a turning point in America's grimmest struggle and the emergence of Matt Hovey as a man of valor who has fought for the land -- and the woman -- he has made his own.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Civil War

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1954

About the author

aka Geoffrey Coffin, Frank W. Mason, Ward Weaver

Francis Van Wyck Mason (November 11, 1901 – August 28, 1978, Bermuda) was an American historian and novelist. He had a long and prolific career as a writer spanning 50 years and including 65 published novels.

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the first adult novel I ever read was a paperback copy of Manila Galleon by F. van Wyck Mason almost 50 years ago. It definitely was not a boy's adventure story. And, I've been a fan of his ever since. Unfortunately his books are hard to find and I'm always looking at yard sales, flea markets, etc. Blue Hurricane concerns the River War in the West during the Civil War in 1862. Matt Hovey is living a simple life in Dexter, Maine until his mother dies and he discovers the secret of his birth. I think he reacts irrationally to this news, but you wouldn't have the story if he just shrugged his shoulders and went back to the farm. He tracks down his father, shoots him and flees Maine, eventually winding up in St. Louis. Overnight Matt discovers a talent for debauchery that made my head spin. All this soap opera stuff is a lead-up to Grant's assaults on Forts Henry and Donelson and concludes with the Battle of Memphis. All that material was well written and pretty exciting. I thought this was an entertaining story, but dependent upon a lot of coincidence [certain characters being in the right places at the right times]. But if they don't meet, you don't have the story.

[Lou Bradshaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ll give Blue Hurricane, by F. van Wyck Mason, written in 1953, 3 stars. It is a poorly written story worthy of only 2 stars, but the historical value to a Civil War buff is worthy of 4 stars. The story relies heavily on coincidences and chance meetings of 6 individuals, all from the same location at a location more than a thousand miles away. Irrational choices made by the lead character also take away from the story. However, the historical information especially in the western rivers and cities was fascinating, and it showed a good deal of research and local knowledge. The title has nothing to do bad weather; rather it refers to the hurricane deck of a converted riverboat full of Union soldiers. It’s my opinion that this book could not be published today due to its poor market value.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in 1861-62 based around the Union civil war navy.
Nicely written. Easy read. The morals around which the characters rotate are just fascinating from our modern standards.
I would recommend it as an easy fictional read that covers some lesser known parts of the US civil war.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

This fictional story of a time out west in 1862 during the Civil War was as very poorly written but I found interesting due to the well researched historical facts about River boat fighting on the Mississippi. Also learned quite a bit about contraband running from north to south which I did not know it was as extensive as it was and people getting quite rich in the process. Matt Hovey was an interesting character to follow, but all the other characters in the book were poorly constructed. this book would never get published today as there are so many great writers out there but I guess in 1954 not many people were doing historical fiction. The plot was pretty lame but at the end of the day I’m glad I read it as the Civil War out west is vastly under documented…

[James Valentine]

a favorite from childhood days, have several of Wyck Masons books (Y)