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Let No Man Divide
Love and war, pride and passion. An unforgettable tale that will capture your heart. St Louis, Spring 1861. Nowhere were the rumblings of inevitable war felt so keenly. Its battle cry would bring together lovely, liberated Leigh Pennington and Hays Banister, the dashing Yankee shipbuilder on a secret Union mission.
From the tent hospitals at Shiloh and Vicksburg to the elegant salons of the great Mississippi riverboats, from the lawless borderlands of Quantrill's raiders to the private bedrooms of stolen passions their stormy romance swept across an America at war and blazed with the fiery conflicts of a turbulent era...
From the tent hospitals at Shiloh and Vicksburg to the elegant salons of the great Mississippi riverboats, from the lawless borderlands of Quantrill's raiders to the private bedrooms of stolen passions their stormy romance swept across an America at war and blazed with the fiery conflicts of a turbulent era...
464 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
30 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Kary
6 books8 followersElizabeth Kary (aka Elizabeth Grayson) has had a lifelong love affair with writing. She published her first poem in fourth grade, and finished an historical novel at fifteen. She wrote through college and graduate school, wrote through twelve years of teaching art in New York State, and nine years of supervising children's classes at the St. Louis Art Museum.
In 1986 Berkley Books released her first historical novel, LOVE, HONOR AND BETRAY, which went on to win the Waldenbook Award for "Best-selling Romance by a New Author".
Kary delights in telling rich, romantic stories set on the American frontier, for which she garnered a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award. Her most recently published book, MOON IN THE WATER, was a finalist for the Romance Writers of America 2005 Rita Award and was named to the honors list for the prestigious Willa Literary Award.
Her first contemporary novel, A SIMPLE GIFT, written under the name Karyn Witmer, is a Literary Guild Featured Alternate and will be in bookstores in September 2006.
When deadlines permit, Kary teaches writing classes at her local Community College. She divides her time between homes in St. Louis, Missouri and Monterey, California.
In 1986 Berkley Books released her first historical novel, LOVE, HONOR AND BETRAY, which went on to win the Waldenbook Award for "Best-selling Romance by a New Author".
Kary delights in telling rich, romantic stories set on the American frontier, for which she garnered a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award. Her most recently published book, MOON IN THE WATER, was a finalist for the Romance Writers of America 2005 Rita Award and was named to the honors list for the prestigious Willa Literary Award.
Her first contemporary novel, A SIMPLE GIFT, written under the name Karyn Witmer, is a Literary Guild Featured Alternate and will be in bookstores in September 2006.
When deadlines permit, Kary teaches writing classes at her local Community College. She divides her time between homes in St. Louis, Missouri and Monterey, California.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 25, 2012
3.5 stars
The step-back:
St. Louis, Missouri 1861. Leigh Pennington is the daughter of a divided household. Her father supports the Union cause, while her southern born mother supports the *home team*. Leigh meets Yankee Hayes Banister when he saves her from injury when a crowd runs amok, and there's sparks a-flying between the two, but this being a romance novel and all there are complications. Leigh's engaged to her childhood friend who has just left to fight for the Confederate army, and Hayes was bit hard by a female viper and he's not about to fall in love again and risk another broken heart. Leigh has a gift for nursing, and she plans to devote herself to helping the wounded soldiers, and it doesn't matter which side of the conflict they're on. Hayes is a shipbuilder working with the Union Army developing Ironclad warships for control of the Mississippi River. Hayes is also doing a bit of spying on the side (but for which side is he spying?), which of course contributes to misunderstandings between the two.
I enjoyed this, and even at 460+ pages it was a fairly quick, easy read. Hayes was a seriously yummy hero, and Leigh's independent nature was handled well without going OTT and her being one of those foot-stomping-until-I-get-my-own-way heroine. There are some pretty steamy sex scenes, but you won't be finding them on every page - war does tend to get folks separated at times. I hadn't realized how much military activity there was off to the *west*, so there were a lot of new factoids for me in this one. I thought the author did a good job of mixing in her characters with known historical events and people (although the Quantrill episode kind of stretched credulity), which are noted in the author's notes at the end.
Now for the quibbles - and that is the over-analyzing that goes on in Hayes' and Leigh's heads and it comes across as telling instead of showing. Similar to what Roberta Gellis is like when she's at her explainatory worst (not knocking Gellis, she's put out some very good novels). If they would just talk to each other. Argh. A worthwhile read for fans of Civil War romances.
The step-back:
St. Louis, Missouri 1861. Leigh Pennington is the daughter of a divided household. Her father supports the Union cause, while her southern born mother supports the *home team*. Leigh meets Yankee Hayes Banister when he saves her from injury when a crowd runs amok, and there's sparks a-flying between the two, but this being a romance novel and all there are complications. Leigh's engaged to her childhood friend who has just left to fight for the Confederate army, and Hayes was bit hard by a female viper and he's not about to fall in love again and risk another broken heart. Leigh has a gift for nursing, and she plans to devote herself to helping the wounded soldiers, and it doesn't matter which side of the conflict they're on. Hayes is a shipbuilder working with the Union Army developing Ironclad warships for control of the Mississippi River. Hayes is also doing a bit of spying on the side (but for which side is he spying?), which of course contributes to misunderstandings between the two.
I enjoyed this, and even at 460+ pages it was a fairly quick, easy read. Hayes was a seriously yummy hero, and Leigh's independent nature was handled well without going OTT and her being one of those foot-stomping-until-I-get-my-own-way heroine. There are some pretty steamy sex scenes, but you won't be finding them on every page - war does tend to get folks separated at times. I hadn't realized how much military activity there was off to the *west*, so there were a lot of new factoids for me in this one. I thought the author did a good job of mixing in her characters with known historical events and people (although the Quantrill episode kind of stretched credulity), which are noted in the author's notes at the end.
Now for the quibbles - and that is the over-analyzing that goes on in Hayes' and Leigh's heads and it comes across as telling instead of showing. Similar to what Roberta Gellis is like when she's at her explainatory worst (not knocking Gellis, she's put out some very good novels). If they would just talk to each other. Argh. A worthwhile read for fans of Civil War romances.
February 27, 2022
*A FEW SPOILERS AHEAD*
I read Ms. Kary's "Love Honor and Betrayed" and felt betrayed by the author, bug decided to be generous and give her a second chance. I'm glad I did!
This Civil War HR was a cut above the rest in some ways, as the h, Leigh had a southern mom and northern dad, so she wasn't one of those southern belles continually crying "I hate the Yankees!" all over the place. Also, she's not obsessed with parties, and dances and having every young man worship her. In fact, she was planning to marry her childhood sweetheart, but he was killed in the war, and then she meets the H, Hayes.
This book gives a lot of detail about the war years, with special attention paid to the female nurses, as many women volunteered their services, Leigh among them. The work's very important to her, and her skills and interest in medicine lead to her decision to become a doctor (not an easy task for a woman back then). So this book has a lot more depth than being just the story of Leigh and Hayes's relationship.
They get married, but it's a bit rocky from the start, since it was brought about by a desire to do the right thing. Not long after her fiance, Luke died, Leigh and Hayes (a northerner, by the way) gave in to their attraction, leaving her with a lot of guilt, not only for betraying Luke's memory, but because she never had the feelings for him that she does for Hayes. Hayes in turn, felt guilty for sleeping with a virgin, and wanted to make an honest woman of her, as they say, and also protect her, in case she should be pregnant. Of course, they both had strong feelings for each other they were reluctant to express, afraid they wouldn't be welcome.
They both had trust issues, as well as a fear of commitment. Hayes's former mistress, Maria had hurt him badly, and Leigh's parents, Horace and Althea, had a stormy marriage. (It didn't help that Leigh had the wrong idea, thinking they had married for the same reason she and Hayes did, and that her mother was pregnant with her.) They had a lot to work through, and things kept getting in their way.
Leigh's parents are the SC in the book, as their marriage is given attention as well. Althea had defied her family when she married Horace, since he was from the north and had no social status, and he felt guilty about taking her away from her genteel plantation life. He worked hard, made money, and gave her a lot of material things, but not a lot of time. He also treated her more like a little girl than a partner, which she grew to resent, and nearly had an affair with Aaron, the novel's villain. Later, (shades of "a Doll's House") Althea goes back to her family's home in Louisiana, to be on her own for a while, gain responsibility, and be a whole person, one who'll be a real wife to Horace.
As for the MC, they're separated when Hayes gets drafted and Leigh takes up her nursing duties. They had another misunderstanding right before this, so things weren't at their best. Through the machinations of Aaron (who wanted to sleep with both mother and daughter, thankfully not at the same time), their letters are intercepted and each thinks the other didn't write and doesn't care. It's a long road back to each other, with more than their share of misfortune, but they both grow a lot emotionally and become better people because of it.
I would have preferred their separation to have been less lengthy, but considering it was wartime, it was realistic. Also, there were times when they both should have been more understanding and tried to see the other's side of things. So I couldn't give this four stars, but would have put three and a half, if there's a way to do that.
One thing I appreciate: neither of them cheated.
It's too bad M. Kary didn't write a sequel. She could have told about Leigh's days at medical school, and her career as a doctor, the hardships, how it affected her marriage, and so forth. Wonder if she ever considered it?
I read Ms. Kary's "Love Honor and Betrayed" and felt betrayed by the author, bug decided to be generous and give her a second chance. I'm glad I did!
This Civil War HR was a cut above the rest in some ways, as the h, Leigh had a southern mom and northern dad, so she wasn't one of those southern belles continually crying "I hate the Yankees!" all over the place. Also, she's not obsessed with parties, and dances and having every young man worship her. In fact, she was planning to marry her childhood sweetheart, but he was killed in the war, and then she meets the H, Hayes.
This book gives a lot of detail about the war years, with special attention paid to the female nurses, as many women volunteered their services, Leigh among them. The work's very important to her, and her skills and interest in medicine lead to her decision to become a doctor (not an easy task for a woman back then). So this book has a lot more depth than being just the story of Leigh and Hayes's relationship.
They get married, but it's a bit rocky from the start, since it was brought about by a desire to do the right thing. Not long after her fiance, Luke died, Leigh and Hayes (a northerner, by the way) gave in to their attraction, leaving her with a lot of guilt, not only for betraying Luke's memory, but because she never had the feelings for him that she does for Hayes. Hayes in turn, felt guilty for sleeping with a virgin, and wanted to make an honest woman of her, as they say, and also protect her, in case she should be pregnant. Of course, they both had strong feelings for each other they were reluctant to express, afraid they wouldn't be welcome.
They both had trust issues, as well as a fear of commitment. Hayes's former mistress, Maria had hurt him badly, and Leigh's parents, Horace and Althea, had a stormy marriage. (It didn't help that Leigh had the wrong idea, thinking they had married for the same reason she and Hayes did, and that her mother was pregnant with her.) They had a lot to work through, and things kept getting in their way.
Leigh's parents are the SC in the book, as their marriage is given attention as well. Althea had defied her family when she married Horace, since he was from the north and had no social status, and he felt guilty about taking her away from her genteel plantation life. He worked hard, made money, and gave her a lot of material things, but not a lot of time. He also treated her more like a little girl than a partner, which she grew to resent, and nearly had an affair with Aaron, the novel's villain. Later, (shades of "a Doll's House") Althea goes back to her family's home in Louisiana, to be on her own for a while, gain responsibility, and be a whole person, one who'll be a real wife to Horace.
As for the MC, they're separated when Hayes gets drafted and Leigh takes up her nursing duties. They had another misunderstanding right before this, so things weren't at their best. Through the machinations of Aaron (who wanted to sleep with both mother and daughter, thankfully not at the same time), their letters are intercepted and each thinks the other didn't write and doesn't care. It's a long road back to each other, with more than their share of misfortune, but they both grow a lot emotionally and become better people because of it.
I would have preferred their separation to have been less lengthy, but considering it was wartime, it was realistic. Also, there were times when they both should have been more understanding and tried to see the other's side of things. So I couldn't give this four stars, but would have put three and a half, if there's a way to do that.
One thing I appreciate: neither of them cheated.
It's too bad M. Kary didn't write a sequel. She could have told about Leigh's days at medical school, and her career as a doctor, the hardships, how it affected her marriage, and so forth. Wonder if she ever considered it?
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews