The Marvelous Orange Tree

by Betsy L. Howell

Twenty-year-old Robert Taylor is a private in Ulysses Grant’s Army of the Tennessee and one of thousands of soldiers involved in the 1863 campaign to take Vicksburg, Mississippi, from the Confederates. After the surrender, Robert and his comrades must cope with the boredom of daily life, the loneliness of being far from home, and the terror of continued fighting in and around the Mississippi countryside. By contrast, Jennie Edwards, an imaginative tomboy from the Illinois prairie, is learning conjuring tricks from the professional magician Owl as the Civil War begins. Inspired by Abraham Lincoln, she dreams of doing her part in the conflict that will soon sweep up her two older brothers. Her own experiences passing as a soldier take her deep into a masquerade from which she barely survives.
Robert and Jennie’s lives intersect in scenes of shocking battles, camp life, and enduring friendships, in northern and southern landscapes of war and homecoming. A powerful story of love and family ties, The Marvelous Orange Tree recreates the Civil War era and its aftermath, in a world where secrets are best kept when they remain in plain sight, just like the finest magic tricks.

Genres: Historical Fiction

434 pages, Paperback

Published March 5, 2017

About the author

I have worked in wildlife conservation since 1986 and as a writer since 1999. I feel fortunate that the two professions are so complementary and that they also allow me to learn about and be involved with a wide variety of wildlife species and many aspects of natural and social history. When I left my job as a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Forest Service in 1998 to be a writer, I found myself traveling a most unexpected path as I researched my personal connection to the American Civil War. My memoir, Acoustic Shadows, is the result of that endeavor, but when I finished it I didn't want to leave that time period. So, I continued and wrote a novel about a woman soldier, which became The Marvelous Orange Tree. Though writing was immensely personally satisfying, it wasn't so monetarily. I returned to the Forest Service in 2004 and rediscovered my earlier passions with carnivores, amphibians and reptiles, and the temperate rainforests of the Pacific Northwest. Not only could I once again do the survey work and research that I loved, but I also now had the skills to begin writing about the endlessly fascinating natural world and the many wildlife species residing everywhere: below ground, in the mid-story, high in the canopy, and above in the sky. Since 2014, I've published several articles on science and natural history, and I'm also now finishing a second novel set during the 1860s centering on a minor character from The Marvelous Orange Tree. This is a journey I feel very fortunate to be traveling.

Reviews

[Kelli Santistevan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here’s what this book is about:”A powerful story of love and family ties, The Marvelous Orange Tree recreates the Civil War era and its aftermath, in a world where secrets are best kept when they remain in plain sight, just like the finest magic tricks.”

I won this book from a Goodreads giveaway in 2017 and I finally got around to reading it. I’ve never read a book set during the Civil War. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this book or not but I enjoyed reading this book. I liked the characters and I liked where the story was set. I was reading some chapters in this book out loud to myself and I started thinking to myself that this book would be really good as an audiobook because it has a lot of different characters. I think that hearing this book on audio would really help bring this story to life.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

As you can see by my rating of five stars, I really enjoyed reading The Marvelous Orange Tree. I especially liked the details concerning the rabbit in chapter one, nice touch! I found that it took longer to read through part one than part two. Not sure if that was due to the chapters being longer or if it was more a matter of author and reader tuning into each other and "hitting our stride". In any event, this book is easily imagined in the mind, I think it will translate very well in screen - just make sure the author, Betsy L. Howell, is involved as she is a talented author.

It is readily apparent that Ms. Howell has put not only a lot research into this story but also, I believe, a lot of herself. I was aware of women serving in the both the Revolutionary War and the Civil War but have not read of their experiences before winning this book in a Goodreads giveaway. While I know this is a fictionalized account, I do wonder if the author based any part of the character or her experiences on any real women. I would like to read about them - hint, how about writing that next?

I don't want to say much in terms of the storyline because I think the impact of the story lies partly in receiving the information as written. The feelings of Robert, Jenny, and the other characters all ring true and should be experienced as the people in the novel experience them. Suffice it to say, I am very glad to have won this book and very glad to have read it. Thank you and I look very much forward to reading other offerings by you.

[Csimplot Simplot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book!!!