Time of Drums

The Mountain Novels #3

by John Ehle

John Ehle's classic civil war novel, Tome of Drums, returns to print as a Press 53 Classic. Book three in his seven-book Appalachian series. Borden Deal "There have been many books about the Civil War; none of them, with the exception of The Red Badge of Courage, have comes close to the dusty, bloody, grinding truth that John Ehle writes about. Time of Drums is not only the story of men launched into a war with uncertain loyalties, but more important, it continues the Wright saga that John Ehle began with The Land Breakers and promises to expand into one of the great fictional sagas of American history."

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Civil War

338 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1970

About the author

John Ehle (1925-2018) grew up the eldest of five children in the mountains of North Carolina, which would become the setting for many of his novels and several works of nonfiction. Following service in World War II, Ehle received his BA and MA at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he met the playwright Paul Green and began writing plays for the NBC radio series American Adventure. He taught at the university for ten years before joining the staff of the North Carolina governor Terry Sanford, where Ehle was a “one-man think tank,” the governor’s “idea man” from 1962 to 1964. (Sanford once said of Ehle: “If I were to write a guidebook for new governors, one of my main suggestions would be that he find a novelist and put him on his staff.”) Ehle was the author of eleven novels, seven of which constitute his celebrated Mountain Novels cycle, and six works of nonfiction. He had one daughter, actress Jennifer Ehle, with his wife Rosemary Harris, also an actress.

Reviews

[Diane Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third of the mountain novels about the Wright family who settled in the Appalachian Mountains during the Revolutionary War. Beginning with "The Land Breakers", an all time favorite, continuing with "The Journey of August King", set in 1810, this one shows the third generation coping with the Civil War. Written from the perspective of Owen Wright, it is not the best Civil War novel I've ever read, but it is the best description of the horror of Pickett's Charge during the battle of Gettysburg that has been written. Starting with the officers disbelief at what Lee wanted them to do, the enlisted men's knowledge of certain death crossing that field, the Yanks amazement and respect for the Rebels carrying out orders, through the battle itself and the aftermath, John Ehle puts us right in the middle of it all in the last few chapters of this novel. It was the turning point of the war, and both sides knew it.

Not to make light of the thousands of men killed and wounded during this battle, I'll share an anecdote about the movie "Gettyburg", based on Michael Shaara's novel "The Killer Angels". (Truly one of the best Civil War novels ever written.). On screen the men were lining up in formation to take that suicidal march across that open field right into the Yankee guns and cannons. I turned to my husband and said "They're all going to be killed. Women would never do anything that stupid." I stand by that comment.

[J.M. Hushour · Rating 5 out of 5]

"You know the Bible says as we approach the last days and the coming of the Lord there'll be confusion in the land."
"It's about time for the Lord to come back then."

Damn, only 12 reviews? This really is one of those "forgotten" classics, easily the best novel about the Civil War I've ever read, and yes, I include Faulkner in that. Inevitably, the shadow of Faulkie hangs unfairly low over North Carolinian Ehle, but if he gave a shit, who knows? I hope he didn't because he excels his fellow Southern predecessor in many ways.
Drums continues the story of the Wrights from The Landbreakers and who appear briefly in The Journey of August King. Colonel Owen Wright has been away from home for years after the death of his wife and his falling out with his Unionist father. Wright rises through the Confederate ranks and fights at famous battles (Ehle invited a fictional brigade for him, but everyone else is real, Stonewall Jackson figures pretty prominently). When he gets sent home to conscript soldiers for the Confederate army, he has to come to terms with his Northern-sympathizing father and brothers and the girl his younger brother knocked up. Naturally, they fall in love. Events hurtle towards Gettysburg, and so on.
There's multiple levels of complex emotion at work here, much more so than anything Faulkner ever wrote, which is why Ehle, who is not immune to beautiful strings of stream-of-consciousness lyricism, is better than Faulkner. Hopefully more people read his books. Hopefully Ehle is being hailed somewhere in the Southern literary world. He writes beautiful and even funny things!

"I've got the runs so bad, Owen, I don't know that I can go into action."
"Fight with your pants down."

[Press 53 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book three in John Ehle's (Ee-Lee) seven-book Appalachian series that Ehle called his "mountain books." Time of Drums tells the story of the Wright family and their mountain community as young men go off to fight the Civil War. Novelist Borden Deal said: "There have been many books about the Civil War; none of them, with the exception of The Red Badge of Courage, have comes close to the dusty, bloody, grinding truth that John Ehle writes about. Time of Drums is not only the story of men launched into a war with uncertain loyalties, but more important, it continues the Wright saga that John Ehle began with The Land Breakers and promises to expand into one of the great fictional sagas of American history."

First published by Harper in 1970 and reissued in 2014 by Press 53 as part of their Carolina Classics Editions imprint.

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book by John Ehle. I have never wanted to read a book about the civil war but this book is the fourth book in a series and it is a wonderful series so I had to give this book a try. The focus like all his books are on the people and their relationships. What a terrible time this was for Americans. Literally brother against brother and mob rule. This series has helped me understand the south better. His stories ring true with great writing and characters. Definitely plan on finishing the series of 7 books.
I finished this book today July 3, the date of the Gettysburg battle.

[A Kritzer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well,..how do I begin? I am 63 and have been a prolific reader all my life. I have read so many,..that so few books now catch my attention. I have gone years between great reads. I was introduced to John Ehle in a round-about way. Historical fiction is my favorite genre. I also read a lot of Biographies, Science Fiction, General Science, the Classics and lots of History. Anyhow, a year ago a fellow recommended, "The Long Ships" by Frans Bengtsson,....it be a very good Viking saga. I rated it a solid 8.5.

Oh,..did I not mention I use a 10 point system? Sorry. I usually have to decide whether a 7 point book has to be rated a 3 or a 4 here on Goodreads. The choice are not always easy. But few get bumped to a 4 star. I am getting off track. So, after this great read I went back to the fellow that praised it. In his post I noticed he mentioned an author by the name of John Ehle. Who? Never heard of him. Hmmm,...okay,.... I will check him out.

I discovered: "The Land Breakers". What a beautiful read.

His writing was different, plain speaking and moving. Reminded me of the Hemingway, that I read so long ago. I was captivated by the traumas of the early settlers in early Frontier America. What made such a great read? John Ehle would hint at consequences thereby forcing the reader to use their imagination to fill in the gaps. The bear hunt was most memorable. I rated the book a solid 9.5. Almost a perfect 10. I was impressed! On Goodreads, I rated it a 5 star.

Since then, I have read: "The Journey of August", "The Road" and just now, "Time of Drums". Of the three,.."The Road" came the closets to what I consider excellent writing. So,..now on to "The Time of Drums".

I thought it was a real let down.

True, it had its moments, especially with the emotional interactions of the characters. The main plot was actually very good. But the book fell apart in so many sections. Too many times the future events were easy to predict. The Civil War scenes were a major let down. A map or two would have helped. Putting even a small context in the battles and why they mattered would have helped a lot. I was baffled why there was almost no mention of post Gettysburg to the end of the war in 1865. Nothing.

Now,..I will not slight any reader that views this differently. If John Ehle has stirred any interest in the US Civil War era, I urge to read the very best of Bruce Catton. He wrote history like a poet. "This Hallowed Ground" was my favorite. Also consider the Trilogy by Shelby Foote. Finally,..if you really want great battle scene descriptions of the era, consider "Killer Angels" by Michael Shaara and "Cain at Gettysburg" by Ralph Peters. And yes, these authors were merciful! They actually include maps so you can understand the action much better and put context in the battles.

As well,...I am going to give you a great lead. If you enjoyed "The Land Breakers" as much as I, you must read "Frontiersmen" by Allan Eckert. That be a much, much better read! Same era but much more intense, and I take noting away from "The Land Breakers".

So far I have read 4 of John Ehle novels. I will read him again sometime. I just hope to recapture the magic of my first read by him. In the mean time, I most likely be reading some more Historical Fiction. Maybe something by Conn Iggulden.

[Sydney E · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow, this book exceeded my expectations. humans are so multi-faceted. such a well written and constructed novel.
“it is amazing how misery helps the mind to recall and the heart to care.”
“all my instincts are brighter, now that it is spring. even my sorry prospects appear better. the colors in the grass and sky are brighter, everything excites me: the trees, the budding of the bushes, even the roosters strutting about the roadside.”
“no point in asking what the theme of it is to be, for life works out its own themes.”
when the two army bands played Home, Sweet Home together 😭 and then everyone cheered at the end of the song 😭😭😭 shit got to me
“my men are cooking breakfast and complaining about the chills they feel and their muscle pains. how lucky they are to be alive. how fond tonight they will be of this morning’s health.”
“i felt as if i had lodged myself in a massive mound of fate, that i was a speck on the flesh of this elephantine animal, and was bound to ride it on its mad course.”
“quiet now, except for a group of yanks softly singing John Brown’s Body. A beautiful song.” 😭😭😭😭
“let god forgive us for what we do with what we have, for what we do to the straggly woods and the wide fields.”
i think i like this one as much as if not more than the land breakers. i think this one will be sticking with me for a while. i’ve read nothing else like it.

[Betty McMahon · Rating 5 out of 5]

How does he do it? Everyone should read John Ehle--for unbelievable dialogue, lyrical descriptions along with brutal reality.

[Caleb Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book three of Ehle's "Mountain Novels" series sets a few of the Wrights and Kings, whose ancestors settled the primitive Appalachian Mountains of Western North Carolina, in Virginia and parts North, as they fight in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. The book's narrator, Owen Wright, is the grandson of Mooney Wright, whose life was chronicled in the first book of the Mountain Novels series *The Land Breakers.* Though much of the book is set on sites of the Civil War, there is a return to Harristown to conscript folks from the old homeplace - whose surnames by now are familiar to readers of Ehle's books - into the Confederate Army.

I've noted in reviews of Ehle's other books that action is not really the author's bailiwick, but his descriptive writing of both the Appalachian landscape, the Civil War battlefields, and thought processes of the characters is very deep and rewarding. There is - by Mountain Novel standards - a bit of a love triangle scandal involving Owen, his younger brother Woofer, and the widow Sory Crawford - who both men pine for while she carries one of the men's child.

Trigger Warning: True to the setting (and that this book was written in the 60s), there is use of the 'N-word' with a 'hard-R' throughout. Though there is less gore regarding the treatment of slaves as Ehle has written in other books. I think this has more to do with writing a period-accurate account than Ehle simply being a wanton racist. Indeed, a quick peer into his other works suggest that his views on race and his work chronicling the struggle met by people of color through the 50s and 60s would reveal his progressive stance on the issue, especially given the timing and culture when some of his works on this topic were written.

Lastly, *Time of Drums* is yet another reminder that the Civil War remains a stain on our nation's storied history. But that not all those who fought for the Confederacy were pro-slavery, white supremacists. Yet I think Ehle also highlights those in this camp without attempting to apologize on their behalf for their tyrrany and terrorism of slaves. The tough part about writing historical fiction from this period is that American History is rather dark...and it does the reader no favors to whitewash these events.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although the descriptions of warfare are often difficult to handle, the writing is so strong and forceful that you can't help but be drawn into the narrative. I love John Ehle's writing, and I'm sorry that I only discovered it after his death earlier this year. The cadence of his prose is pure Appalachian mountain as are his characters. In this Civil War drama, he depicts the conflicts, societal and internal, that are specific to the mountain people. This is a region deeply divided in loyalties. Through the personal story of Owen Wright (the third generation of a family that settled the region in an earlier Ehle book), we are exposed to all these conflicts.
Not all of John Ehle's books are easily available, but searching for them is worth the effort.

[Faye Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

As part of Ehle's Mountain Series, this book continues to follow the mountain people of North Carolina as they get caught up in the Civil War. It's not a pretty novel, but a realistic look at families and relationships as their loyalties to their country and to each other are tested. For me, it dragged a bit in some of the battleground descriptions, but overall, this was a gritty, honest look at life during that time, in that place. Ehle is an outstanding writer.

[Don Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is available at Press 53 in Winston-Salem, NC. I’m reading all seven of the Mountain Novels by John Ehle. This is the fourth and I believe it is the best Civil War novel I’ve read. John Ehle was a great American novelist and deserves to be widely read today.

[Mark Buckley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent novel about a family and the effects of the Civil War on the people of the N.C. mountains. A love story and a war story combined. John Ehle is a superb story teller and writer. The Gettysburg battle descriptions are brilliant too.

[Darcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Utterly marvelous. Beautifully written, thoroughly compelling until the very last word on the very last page. Incredibly moving and a powerful and intimate view of the Civil War. Highly recommend.

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This continues the story of the Wright family, this time Owen Wright (and his family), the grandson of Mooney Wright from The Land Breakers. I agree with Borden Deal who said, "There have been many books about the Civil War; none of them, with the exception of The Red Badge of Courage, have come close to the dusty, bloody, grinding truth that John Ehle writes about."

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent writing persists, as in all Ehle novels. Slightly lower rating since the Civil War isn't really my bag. Still, best Civil War novel I've ever read.

[Laura]

Very graphic, disgusting, depressing book about the Civil War. Were all wars as senseless and poorly managed as the description of this one?