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The Hidden Front Line: An Abridged Version of Charlotte's War
Three wars, three men, and the one woman working to save them all.
Charlotte Fletcher is in the fight of her life to save her firstborn son from facing a truth she knows all too well—the dreadful impact of war. First, she watched her own brother suffer the destructive consequences of youthful bravado in WWII. Then, she waved goodbye to her husband, a decorated hero, who sailed into harm’s way a second time in the Korean conflict. Now, with her son headed to Vietnam, Charlotte is using all the arrows in her quiver to stop the conflict.
A condensed version of his previous novel featuring Charlotte as the title character, Graham’s The Hidden Front Line centralizes her narrative and highlights the importance of the women facing war who are too often taken for granted. The formidable connections Charlotte forges over the years—including visionaries such as JFK, two U.S. Secretaries of State, and even Ho Chi Minh—culminate in a surprising and captivating convergence of personalities, power, and politics.
Charlotte Fletcher is in the fight of her life to save her firstborn son from facing a truth she knows all too well—the dreadful impact of war. First, she watched her own brother suffer the destructive consequences of youthful bravado in WWII. Then, she waved goodbye to her husband, a decorated hero, who sailed into harm’s way a second time in the Korean conflict. Now, with her son headed to Vietnam, Charlotte is using all the arrows in her quiver to stop the conflict.
A condensed version of his previous novel featuring Charlotte as the title character, Graham’s The Hidden Front Line centralizes her narrative and highlights the importance of the women facing war who are too often taken for granted. The formidable connections Charlotte forges over the years—including visionaries such as JFK, two U.S. Secretaries of State, and even Ho Chi Minh—culminate in a surprising and captivating convergence of personalities, power, and politics.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
370 pages, Paperback
Published August 19, 2025
13 people are currently reading
6776 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 18, 2025
Loved the first half, hated the 2nd. Much too much non-fiction thrown in regarding politics and the Vietnam war era. The author should have stayed focused on the stories of the main characters and sprinkled in some facts about what was going on at that time in history. I lost interest at about 60% in.
August 12, 2025
Many thanks to NetGalley and River Grove Books for a copy of this novel.
According to the publisher’s blurb, this is an abridged version of a novel previously released as Charlotte’s War (2022). Not having read the longer version, I obviously can’t compare and comment as to whether the abridgement is an improvement on the original. I was unable to source a copy of the original, which is described as ‘epic.’ Since this version also deals with the main character, Charlotte Fletcher Shipwright, as she endures the effects of three wars on three men she loves, shortening and centring Charlotte’s story does not make it any less epic. Also clear is the fact that her experiences are not purely the stuff of historical fiction. Charlotte represents many women of her generation who suffered multiple wars in turn, with all the emotional impact they entailed, simply for having been alive to witness generations of men marching off to the front. First it was her older brother in the Second World War; next, as a young military wife, she sees her husband swept up in the Korean War. As the story begins, Charlotte is intensifying her own lifelong anti-war battle to protest the Vietnam War, which fascinates her son Jack.
For all that her experiences with war are women’s historical lot, Charlotte is no ordinary woman, for her time or any time. Making her a scholar and activist puts her in contact with important historical figures in each of the three timelines, FDR, Eisenhower, JFK, Nixon, LBJ, to name only a few. She is especially intimate with Henry Kissinger. There is a lot of weaving between historical periods, and a lot of detail in all of them, as Charlotte’s life progresses. She spends early childhood as the child of Presbyterian missionaries in China, escaping just before the Japanese occupation. The author even inserts some autobiographical references as his fictional characters interact with his own uncle, cousins and father.
Graham is a university scholar, an international affairs expert at the University of California (Irvine). His research is impeccable. But for a piece of historical fiction, even after its abridgement, there is still far too much textbook detail. One of the first examples where some sharp editing would make for better reading is the discussion of the four televised Kennedy-Nixon debates of 1960, which is replete with lengthy direct quotes from the transcript. Only the footnotes are missing. Such an approach is interesting and informative and reminds readers that this really happened. But this is a novel based on history, not a classroom text.
Graham’s discussion of important historical issues through Charlotte Fletcher Shipwright, her family and social circle, is well done. He considers a mighty list of pivotal issues: the increasing dominance of television on ideas and behavior; the rise of generational consciousness; the universities as hotbeds of radicalization; the politicization of Black Americans; the polarization of class, age, gender and race politics; how the Vietnam War brought Cold War anxieties to a fever pitch. Especially as we get closer to the current uses of history to reflect the ideas of those in power, he reminds us, in the words of author Herman Wouk, cited on the frontispiece, ‘The beginning of the end of War lies in its Remembrance.’ If the writing is a bit pedantic, the history is what really matters.
Note: I would give this 3.5 if half grades were permitted.
According to the publisher’s blurb, this is an abridged version of a novel previously released as Charlotte’s War (2022). Not having read the longer version, I obviously can’t compare and comment as to whether the abridgement is an improvement on the original. I was unable to source a copy of the original, which is described as ‘epic.’ Since this version also deals with the main character, Charlotte Fletcher Shipwright, as she endures the effects of three wars on three men she loves, shortening and centring Charlotte’s story does not make it any less epic. Also clear is the fact that her experiences are not purely the stuff of historical fiction. Charlotte represents many women of her generation who suffered multiple wars in turn, with all the emotional impact they entailed, simply for having been alive to witness generations of men marching off to the front. First it was her older brother in the Second World War; next, as a young military wife, she sees her husband swept up in the Korean War. As the story begins, Charlotte is intensifying her own lifelong anti-war battle to protest the Vietnam War, which fascinates her son Jack.
For all that her experiences with war are women’s historical lot, Charlotte is no ordinary woman, for her time or any time. Making her a scholar and activist puts her in contact with important historical figures in each of the three timelines, FDR, Eisenhower, JFK, Nixon, LBJ, to name only a few. She is especially intimate with Henry Kissinger. There is a lot of weaving between historical periods, and a lot of detail in all of them, as Charlotte’s life progresses. She spends early childhood as the child of Presbyterian missionaries in China, escaping just before the Japanese occupation. The author even inserts some autobiographical references as his fictional characters interact with his own uncle, cousins and father.
Graham is a university scholar, an international affairs expert at the University of California (Irvine). His research is impeccable. But for a piece of historical fiction, even after its abridgement, there is still far too much textbook detail. One of the first examples where some sharp editing would make for better reading is the discussion of the four televised Kennedy-Nixon debates of 1960, which is replete with lengthy direct quotes from the transcript. Only the footnotes are missing. Such an approach is interesting and informative and reminds readers that this really happened. But this is a novel based on history, not a classroom text.
Graham’s discussion of important historical issues through Charlotte Fletcher Shipwright, her family and social circle, is well done. He considers a mighty list of pivotal issues: the increasing dominance of television on ideas and behavior; the rise of generational consciousness; the universities as hotbeds of radicalization; the politicization of Black Americans; the polarization of class, age, gender and race politics; how the Vietnam War brought Cold War anxieties to a fever pitch. Especially as we get closer to the current uses of history to reflect the ideas of those in power, he reminds us, in the words of author Herman Wouk, cited on the frontispiece, ‘The beginning of the end of War lies in its Remembrance.’ If the writing is a bit pedantic, the history is what really matters.
Note: I would give this 3.5 if half grades were permitted.
September 21, 2025
The author created a very strong protagonist to tell the story of how 3 wars affected her family and the men involved with each war. With her intriguing background and interest, Charlotte brought the conflict to life.
October 5, 2025
A novel that I find very fascinating and interesting. It was really a good historical fiction read. Emotional and full of historical elements.
Thank you NetGalley and to the publisher Greenleaf Book Group for the ARC.
Thank you NetGalley and to the publisher Greenleaf Book Group for the ARC.
October 14, 2025
Thank you to the publisher and Goodreads for sending me this book. From the description, I thought I would enjoy the book. Unfortunately, it just did not hold my interest. After reading 32%, I gave up.
November 7, 2025
The research and history in this book is phenomenal but I had great difficulty getting into the story, yet it was well written. Perhaps, I found the abridged version too dense. I did appreciate how the books tried to show how the people waiting at home were effected by the events.
December 1, 2025
This takes place in the time frame of WW11. Even tho it’s about war it’s an interesting story about a Woman protecting her first born Son and her loss of Family members to this terrible time in her life. War is not pretty. I found this book very interesting. I would recommend it!
October 12, 2025
A very interesting historical read. Much history shared in this great novel and very informative with each chapter. Thank you Goodreads and River Grove Books for this ARC BOOK.
October 23, 2025
Great plot, but very clunky writing I can only put down to abridgement.
December 2, 2025
Compelling and riveting from cover to cover.
December 5, 2025
I enjoyed reading this book and the history behind it.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews