What do you think?
Rate this book
A Tree Firmly Planted
War is at the doorstep! Two sisters, Kathleen and Ellen, along with their maid, Sara, come of age just as their home state, Tennessee, secedes from the Union. Their peaceful home in Maury County is ripped apart by the horrors of slavery, the question of state's rights, economic strife, and religious dissension. The young women cope with the heights and depths of new love, marriage, parenthood, and work, all the while living on a battlefield. They encounter soldiers from both armies, spies, and marauders. Ellen's suffering makes her thirst for God, while Kathleen seeks escape. Sara both longs for and fears the army that is marching to liberate her people. Will the three Tennessee women find peace? Will their faith be overwhelmed by their suffering, or will they sink their roots deeply into God and his word? Will their love for each other and for the men in their lives survive the conflict? A Tree Firmly Planted explores these questions. Though it is historical fiction, it is interwoven with true stories of Maury County during the Civil War. It is the first book in the saga, “A Tennessee Trilogy,” which follows the fictional Blair family from the eve of the War Between the States through the Great Depression.
428 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2012
156 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 29, 2012
If you love history(especially about the South)you will really enjoy this book. The author, Elizabeth Alphin Mundie, describes how the Civil War affected the people in Middle Tennessee,namely Maury County. Through the voice of Ellen, a young woman who is about to be married just before the war begins. The story revolves around the lives of Ellen,Kathleen,and their families; it also tells the story of Sara, one of their father's slaves, who takes care of the two sisters.
This novel was difficult to put down because the author makes the characters so real;I felt like I really knew Ellen and her husband John and all the hardships they had to go through. I was sorry when I finished this book because I had become attached to all the characters. Fortunately, there are two more books in this series: I can't wait to see what happens! I just loved this book!
This novel was difficult to put down because the author makes the characters so real;I felt like I really knew Ellen and her husband John and all the hardships they had to go through. I was sorry when I finished this book because I had become attached to all the characters. Fortunately, there are two more books in this series: I can't wait to see what happens! I just loved this book!
November 8, 2012
I received this as an Advance Reading Copy won from Goodreads. The author was kind enough to personalize the book, along with an autograph. Some spoilers ahead so please do not keep reading if you want the story to be completely new to you as you read it.
A Tree Firmly Planted is the first novel in a trilogy on the lives of a family and their friends in Tennessee.
I entered the giveaway for this book since it is set during the Civil War and Reconstruction period, which I have always been interested in. From reading so many time period pieces, I was hoping for some more insight into the Civil War as it was fought in Tennessee. Ms. Mundie does a good job of detailing the movements of troops, and intertwining the war with the lives of our main characters, Ellen, Kathleen, and Sara.
As I read the book, I found that I did not realize how much work the wife of a Southern plantation owner actually had to do to keep the household going and under control. Ellen, who had a great role model in her mother Caroline, does a tremendous job, especially in such trying circumstances as soldiers both Union and Confederacy descend on her lands repeatedly to commandeer food and supplies.
There are only 2 reasons I do not rate this book higher. The primary one is just what was for me the overwhelming amount of religion that becomes interlaced in almost every scene. I understand that people of that time period were much more invested in church, praying, and other religious functions, but for me it's not something I enjoy reading about. It's not the author's fault, since I'm sure someone with a more religious background would thoroughly enjoy the connection with God that Ellen and Jonathan share, and in the book, they do numerous acts of charity and kindness as part of their church-going. It's just my own personal peccadillo, that some people need God to be able to do good, and not do good just for the sake of it.
Secondly, as a male reader, it's hard to stay interested when the story turns to women's fashions and what people get shocked about in Southern society. I have the same reaction when I pick up women's magazines too, and try to read articles in there about why polkadots are the new craze or the new scandal that so and so is involved in. Again, that's just me, and not an indictment on the author's writing.
While I liked the characters that Ms. Mundie has created, I don't know if I could go through 2 more books with religious overtones to find out what happens to them. As I said though, that's just me. But anyone who likes Christian historical fiction with strong writing and good characters would not go wrong in picking this book up. I truly did enjoy the plotline, but for me it's just a bit too much. I don't fit the target audience for this book well.
A Tree Firmly Planted is the first novel in a trilogy on the lives of a family and their friends in Tennessee.
I entered the giveaway for this book since it is set during the Civil War and Reconstruction period, which I have always been interested in. From reading so many time period pieces, I was hoping for some more insight into the Civil War as it was fought in Tennessee. Ms. Mundie does a good job of detailing the movements of troops, and intertwining the war with the lives of our main characters, Ellen, Kathleen, and Sara.
As I read the book, I found that I did not realize how much work the wife of a Southern plantation owner actually had to do to keep the household going and under control. Ellen, who had a great role model in her mother Caroline, does a tremendous job, especially in such trying circumstances as soldiers both Union and Confederacy descend on her lands repeatedly to commandeer food and supplies.
There are only 2 reasons I do not rate this book higher. The primary one is just what was for me the overwhelming amount of religion that becomes interlaced in almost every scene. I understand that people of that time period were much more invested in church, praying, and other religious functions, but for me it's not something I enjoy reading about. It's not the author's fault, since I'm sure someone with a more religious background would thoroughly enjoy the connection with God that Ellen and Jonathan share, and in the book, they do numerous acts of charity and kindness as part of their church-going. It's just my own personal peccadillo, that some people need God to be able to do good, and not do good just for the sake of it.
Secondly, as a male reader, it's hard to stay interested when the story turns to women's fashions and what people get shocked about in Southern society. I have the same reaction when I pick up women's magazines too, and try to read articles in there about why polkadots are the new craze or the new scandal that so and so is involved in. Again, that's just me, and not an indictment on the author's writing.
While I liked the characters that Ms. Mundie has created, I don't know if I could go through 2 more books with religious overtones to find out what happens to them. As I said though, that's just me. But anyone who likes Christian historical fiction with strong writing and good characters would not go wrong in picking this book up. I truly did enjoy the plotline, but for me it's just a bit too much. I don't fit the target audience for this book well.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews