And Wait for the Night

by John William Corrington

It is said that the winner writes the history, but it’s also true that the loser is free to use fiction to present the case for the defeated. John William Corrington, a noted Southern writer, published And Wait for the Night, his first novel, in 1964, near the one hundredth anniversary of the end of the American Civil War. As the novel begins, he describes the fall of Vicksburg, Mississippi to show the agony of the defeat of the Army of the Confederate States by the overwhelming might of the Federal Army. But And Wait for the Night is not primarily about the war. It is about Reconstruction, the twelve-year occupation of the Confederate States that followed their defeat. Corrington’s dramatic example of this is the occupation of Shreveport, Louisiana, by the arrogant uniformed Yankee conquerors, both white and black, and their plundering civilian companions, the carpetbaggers. During the Civil War, one out of every five Southern families lost a husband, father or son. Under Reconstruction, the surviving Southerners found their Confederate money worthless, their land taken for unpaid taxes, and their civil government replaced by military fiat. And there was one further the communal agreement that a Southerner should live his life with honor. Without any hope of redress by day, the survivors forgot their honor and responded by forming secret societies that waited for the night to take vengeance against their oppressors. Major Edward Malcolm Sentell, a paroled CSA officer, tires to maintain his honor but finds himself despised by his fellow Southerners and helpless to stop the looming conflict between them and the occupying Federal forces.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Novels

548 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 5, 2013

About the author

John William Corrington was an American film and television writer.

Reviews

[Mark Peebler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written, but in the vernacular of the Old South back in 1865, so those of you who worship at the altar of political correctness may want to pass on this one. For everyone else, you will find this book to truly be a "good read." Corrington stocks this, his first novel, with a wide array of characters, including honorably tragic figures, tyrants, ruffians, victims, ladies, and the behind the scenes business first merchant, who finally balances his books by the end of the story. He knows his history well, and the pictures he paints in the novel are made more complete by small details and a historical accuracy that matches the more recent novels of Tom Clancy. The author also keeps you guessing the entire book, and you will not know how it ends even a few pages from the end. All together, it was fun to read, and I had trouble putting it down at night. I will definitely re-read it some day.

[Stosch · Rating 4 out of 5]

JWC is a criminally neglected author.