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After the War, Before the Peace - Farrell Family Saga - Book 1
The Farrell Saga, the first of seven novels about the Farrell family, begins with four South Carolina brothers, post U.S. Civil War, on a mission to avenge atrocities suffered by the Farrell family during the war years. Rogue Yankee solders had raped their mother and burned their plantation to the ground. After the War, Before the Peace, follows these Southern brothers on their journey to manhood, a quest for love and peace with respectability.
The story begins when Michael has just turned eighteen and has asserted his right and responsibility to join his two older brothers, Jim and Joe, in activities bordering on breaking the law. Eventually, youngest brother, Danny demands to ride with his brothers.
Once all four Farrell brothers are united in their cause to avenge the Farrell family, their exploits take them further and further up North to find the men who hurt their mother. A raid on a farm in Illinois brings them in touch with a Yankee couple who, after hearing of what had been done to the Farrell family during the war, become their adversaries.
While the brothers take care of Family Business, the Farrell women work toward providing the brothers a measure of peace and safety during their brief retreats between raids. Elizabeth, their mother, and Jim’s wife Nora manage the family ranch in Missouri. Michael falls in love with Lita, a girl in a border town, who provides solace for both him and his brothers between raids. Danny is used by Deborah, a hometown girl, who craves adventure not preached by her minister father.
After one significant raid, the brothers decide that their quest to avenge is over. Serious family issues arise as they begin to work toward convincing legislators to grant them an amnesty - issues that threaten their manhood, their quest for love and their need for peace in their lives.
Reader comments include – has a Gone With the Wind flavor, reminiscent of The Thornbirds and another Lonesome Dove.
The story begins when Michael has just turned eighteen and has asserted his right and responsibility to join his two older brothers, Jim and Joe, in activities bordering on breaking the law. Eventually, youngest brother, Danny demands to ride with his brothers.
Once all four Farrell brothers are united in their cause to avenge the Farrell family, their exploits take them further and further up North to find the men who hurt their mother. A raid on a farm in Illinois brings them in touch with a Yankee couple who, after hearing of what had been done to the Farrell family during the war, become their adversaries.
While the brothers take care of Family Business, the Farrell women work toward providing the brothers a measure of peace and safety during their brief retreats between raids. Elizabeth, their mother, and Jim’s wife Nora manage the family ranch in Missouri. Michael falls in love with Lita, a girl in a border town, who provides solace for both him and his brothers between raids. Danny is used by Deborah, a hometown girl, who craves adventure not preached by her minister father.
After one significant raid, the brothers decide that their quest to avenge is over. Serious family issues arise as they begin to work toward convincing legislators to grant them an amnesty - issues that threaten their manhood, their quest for love and their need for peace in their lives.
Reader comments include – has a Gone With the Wind flavor, reminiscent of The Thornbirds and another Lonesome Dove.
- GenresRomance
636 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2002
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May 17, 2012
After the War, Before the Peace
By Sharon Poppen
Copyright 2002 by Sharon Poppen
Published by Xlibris, paperback $22.95 ISBN10 1-4010-6545-7, eBook $9.99 ISBN10 1-4535-8286-X
After the War, Before the Peace is Sharon Poppen’s stunning debut novel set in the years following the American Civil War. With stunning characters who leap off the page and into your imagination and meticulous attention to detail Poppen’s novel is more than the story of one family ravaged by Civil War and left to rebuild their lives in a world that refused to acknowledge things like basic American civil rights, compensation for war crimes or the prosecution of war criminals.
The story of the Farrell family, whose patriarch, as well as two sons fought for the Confederate States of America and the wife and two younger sons left behind in Summerville, South Carolina will cause you to experience the gamut of human emotions from outrage and fear to love and joy. It is a tale of the triumphs, tragedies and deeply personal experiences of a family first torn apart by war, then separated by the need for retribution and revenge. It is a story of love that can overcome any obstacle, as well as love that fails to rise to the occasion and meet the challenges put before it. It is one family’s story that was echoed multiple times throughout a war ravaged country, where, in the author’s own words, “citizen fought against citizen.”
I found myself caught up in After in the War, Before the Peace within the first few pages. I read in bed sick, because I couldn’t put it down. I read it long past bedtime once I was recuperating because I just had to know what was going to happen next. When I awakened in the morning I reached for along with my morning cup of coffee. For seven days the Farrells were an integral part of my waking and sleeping moments and at no point in time was I sorry I had invested so much time and energy into their story. It left me deeply satisfied and looking forward to the sequel Lita’s Story – A Meandering Tale, which is due to be released sometime in the future by Virtual Tales Publishing who incidentally have also picked up After the War, Before the Peace for re-release sometime in 2012. For now though After the War, Before the Peace can be found through Xlibris and on Amazon’s website. Pick up a copy, it’s a wonderful novel I’m sure you’ll enjoy.
By Sharon Poppen
Copyright 2002 by Sharon Poppen
Published by Xlibris, paperback $22.95 ISBN10 1-4010-6545-7, eBook $9.99 ISBN10 1-4535-8286-X
After the War, Before the Peace is Sharon Poppen’s stunning debut novel set in the years following the American Civil War. With stunning characters who leap off the page and into your imagination and meticulous attention to detail Poppen’s novel is more than the story of one family ravaged by Civil War and left to rebuild their lives in a world that refused to acknowledge things like basic American civil rights, compensation for war crimes or the prosecution of war criminals.
The story of the Farrell family, whose patriarch, as well as two sons fought for the Confederate States of America and the wife and two younger sons left behind in Summerville, South Carolina will cause you to experience the gamut of human emotions from outrage and fear to love and joy. It is a tale of the triumphs, tragedies and deeply personal experiences of a family first torn apart by war, then separated by the need for retribution and revenge. It is a story of love that can overcome any obstacle, as well as love that fails to rise to the occasion and meet the challenges put before it. It is one family’s story that was echoed multiple times throughout a war ravaged country, where, in the author’s own words, “citizen fought against citizen.”
I found myself caught up in After in the War, Before the Peace within the first few pages. I read in bed sick, because I couldn’t put it down. I read it long past bedtime once I was recuperating because I just had to know what was going to happen next. When I awakened in the morning I reached for along with my morning cup of coffee. For seven days the Farrells were an integral part of my waking and sleeping moments and at no point in time was I sorry I had invested so much time and energy into their story. It left me deeply satisfied and looking forward to the sequel Lita’s Story – A Meandering Tale, which is due to be released sometime in the future by Virtual Tales Publishing who incidentally have also picked up After the War, Before the Peace for re-release sometime in 2012. For now though After the War, Before the Peace can be found through Xlibris and on Amazon’s website. Pick up a copy, it’s a wonderful novel I’m sure you’ll enjoy.
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February 11, 2013stay away from the political .. that's my opinion :)
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews