Homeland

by Barbara Hambly

Those who loved Cold Mountain or Geraldine Brooks’s March will embrace and long remember this spellbinding novel of two remarkable women torn apart by conflict, sustained by literature and art, united by friendship and hope.

As brother turns against brother in the bloodbath of the Civil War, two young women sacrifice everything but their friendship. Susanna Ashford is the Southerner, living on a plantation surrounded by scarred and blood-soaked battlefields. Cora Poole is the Northerner, on an isolated Maine island, her beloved husband fighting for the Confederacy. Through the letters the two women exchange, they speak of the ordeal of a familiar world torn apart by tragedy. And yet their unique friendship will help mend the fabric of a ravaged nation.

The two women write about books and art, about loss and longing, about their future and the future of their country. About love. About being a woman in nineteenth-century America. About the triumphant resilience of the human spirit.

Their voices and their stories are delineated in indomitable prose by an award-winning writer who captures in intimate detail a singular moment in time. In Homeland, Barbara Hambly takes readers on a unique odyssey across a landscape treacherous with hardship and hatred. She paints a passionate masterpiece of a friendship that not only transforms our understanding of the most heart-wrenching era of American history but celebrates the power of women to change their world.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Civil War, Fiction, Historical, American Civil War, War, 19th Century

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

aka Barbara Hamilton

Ranging from fantasy to historical fiction, Barbara Hambly has a masterful way of spinning a story. Her twisty plots involve memorable characters, lavish descriptions, scads of novel words, and interesting devices. Her work spans the Star Wars universe, antebellum New Orleans, and various fantasy worlds, sometimes linked with our own.


"I always wanted to be a writer but everyone kept telling me it was impossible to break into the field or make money. I've proven them wrong on both counts."
-Barbara Hambly

Reviews

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hambly’s historical novel is set during the American Civil War and is supposedly a series of letters between two friends who find themselves on opposite sides. Cora is a supporter of the Union, and Susie is a supporter of the Confederacy.

This book is not at all what I thought it was going to be. What starts at as a family drama a la North and South, turns into a discovery of what it means to be a woman and what is worth fighting for on a familial or personal level.

And quite frankly, if you love Jane Austen, you need to read this book because both Cora and Susie are writing love letters to literature as they write each other, and their greatest goddess is Austen.

The story is put together by the reader because both women while challenging their place in the world are also socially constrained by it. You have to read closely or else you will miss some very important details, important ones.

The story opens with a mystery and ends with a solution. Along the way lies heart break and struggle. Hambly gives each of her ladies a strong voice, and her solution to how the letters are sent during the war is well thought out.

The dangers that each woman faces varies, depending upon their geographical location, yet neither one is shown as being more worthy of admiration or sympathy. This done because while Cora and Susie are not related by blood, their friendship is a deep and abiding one. They do not agree with each other all the time, but like real friendships, the disagreement strengthens their relationship and each woman. They learn from each other. Susie might be a Confederate woman but her views on slavery are not those of her siblings and father. Cora is an abolitionist, but she also understands loyalty and a desire to protect one’s home. The two women are different, but they are equals. The very real friendship in the novel and how it is tested not just by the War but by family drama is a wonderful strength. Too often, one woman is always seen or portrayed as better, even the women are supposed to be friends. This is not the case here.

[Tamora Pierce · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only reason I didn't read this book the moment it came out (you all know I adore Hambly's work) is because it's an epistolary novel, consisting solely of letters. I hate epistolary novels by and large. I figured if anyone could make me love one, it would be Hambly, and of course, the moment I made myself start to read, I fell in love with it.

The letters are written by Cora, of Deer Island, Maine, who is married to Ethan, the neighbor and friend of Susanna, of Greene County, Tennessee. The book begins not long after Cora and Ethan have left Greene County for Maine, with Cora and Susanna agreeing to write to one another, and not long before Beauregard fires upon Fort Sumter, which announces the beginning of the American Civil War. We see the war unfold through the letters, sent and unsent, written by each woman.

Cora, in Maine, soon finds herself in a very awkward position in ultra-patriotic Maine when Ethan goes to sign up with the military--the Southern military. She understands that he cannot fight those he grew up with, but wonders if he considered the effect on his wife and the child she carries. As the war goes on, more shortages happen, and more men are drafted, Cora is isolated from her neighbors on an isolated island. She struggles to feed her family and child, bring in money, and deal with the island's cruel seasons. Her only distractions are her letters to Susanna, written even after her ability to send them and receive new ones is severed, and the frivolous novels Susanna sent to her, books she once chided her friend for reading.

Susanna's life is also hard. Her first escape from plantation life, a women's academy, closes during an attack on Nashville, and she is forced to return to her father's plantation and the constrained life of a southern lady, when she yearns for art and learning. As food and resources go to the army, the militia that raids the plantation, and thieves, Susanna is faced not only with threats to the plantation's economy, but to her body and to her life. Tennessee is one of the states that was torn in two by the war,and Susanna is at risk from fellow Southerners as well as from the Yankees.

Hambly has done a great deal to paint a picture of two women, living in the country, in a time of war. In her notes she points out that she wants readers to see that many people didn't want the war at all, and that women and children at home struggled while the men fought. She brings these issues home through what is written by these two intelligent young women who begin the book wishing for a role beyond that which their cultures have decreed for them. Their struggles to keep their sanity, despite privation, blistering hard work, sorrow, and the endless grinding-down that comes from their own families, are nothing short of heroic.

It's an amazing, terrifying, unique book. Anyone who likes to read about the Civil War should read this study about heroism far from the battlefield in the hands of an articulate and passionate historian.

[Paula Hebert · Rating 3 out of 5]

in this unique take on the civilwar, two women, one from an island in maine and one from a plantation in tennessee, become fast friends and begin a correspondence that continues throughout the war. even when the letters cannot be delivered, they continue to write, as an outlet for stress and frustration. this book gives us a wonderful understanding of the hardships that the people left behind had to endure through sometimes horrible situations. it also sings the praises of the strength of women, unable to vote, barely allowed to be schooled, yet left to keep homesteads and family together. you also get a deeper understanding of the schedule of daily, weekly, and seasonal chores that needed to be done on a regular basis during even the best of times. getting through even one day with them would have me crawling on my knees in exhaustion. this book left me humbled and embarrassed at the small things I sometime complain about. it's great to have these women recognised as the heroines they were. an excellent read.

[April Plummer · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this beautifully written novel, two young women originally brought together through marriage maintain an unusual friendship during the Civil War. Cora is from the Union and lives up North while Susanna is from the deep south and part of the Confederacy. The novel is written through their letters to one another during the years of the War.

There are some twists in this book the reader doesn't expect - and I won't give them away here. But this book made me think. A lot.

There were times during the war that these two women were unable to correspond due to the inability to send and receive mail through all the fighting. Yet, Cora and Susanna loyally wrote to one another anyway. They saved the letters, some of which they mailed once the postal service was up and running once again. Their constant love for one another, supported through each, sometimes painfully written line, is amazing. Who, in these days of instant email and text messaging, would be able to do that? I don't know anyone whose long-distance friendship would last days and weeks and months without contact. My best friend and I, though we live only 20 minutes from each other, see each other only a couple times a year. We never talk on the phone. But we email daily. Without email...I don't know. I think she and I would remain friends, but not as intimately as we do now. It's so easy to tell each other every detail of our lives when we can sit down at the computer and type away. But if we had to hand-write letters, I'm not sure we'd know each other as well, understand each other and love each other on such deep levels as we do now.

Yet, Cora and Susanna, not only through hand-written letters but across political and social boundaries, through different thoughts and beliefs and levels of education, not only maintained a friendship. Their friendship blossomed into a deep love between sisterly hearts.

Cora ran her household, raised her newborn, took care of her ailing mother, all while stranded inside a cabin buried by snow. She injured her fingers with the tedious housework, avoided cruel remarks from women who hated her and accused her of being a traitor because she didn't divorce her husband when he fought for the Confederacy (his home was in the South, and he felt it only right), and still, she wrote by fading candlelight on any scraps of paper she could find.

Susanna took care of her sister despite her sister's betrayal, endured a house full of militia while her father left them, and dreamed of going to art school and becoming an artist once the war was over. She foraged for food, hiding the mammals she shot and fish she speared and eggs her hens laid so that the military men wouldn't eat it all. At times, she starved, living off what she fed the hens. Still, she wrote on scraps of paper and traded work for postal service in order to stay in touch with Cora.

These women were strong. When someone says they want to read a book with true, strong female characters, recommend this book. I honestly don't know if I could be as strong.

The other thing I'd like to mention is the love the women shared for literature. This added another layer of depth to the whole story. Both women incorporated the classics into their daily lives, at times hanging onto the fictional characters as the only true, understanding company available. Pride and Prejudice, A Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield, The Hunchback of Notredame, even Frankenstein, The Iliad, and A Christmas Carol. The characters in these stories - particularly the women - gave them hope when there was very little hope to be found. Hambly masterfully weaved the truth and wonder of these books through the lives of Cora and Susanna, finding parallel lines and inevitably causing the reader to reflect upon his/her own life. It would be impossible not to, and also not to become curious about the books mentioned that have so far either sat on my shelf unread or never even considered.

This is a beautiful book that, though the story is set over a century ago in a world we could never understand in this age of instant gratification, when the only wars we know are fought across the ocean, remains on the reader's heart.

[Alison Sinclair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Homeland is told entirely in the form of a correspondence between two women nominally on opposite sides of the American Civil War. Susanna is the daughter of a Southern plantation-holder and a gifted artist; intellectual Cora, from Maine, is married to one of Susanna's family friends, Emory. Susanna opens the correspondence with a plea to Cora not to tell anyone that she saw Susanna in a compromising embrace. Cora gently admonishes Susanna that the man���Emory's widowed father, Justin���does not have a good reputation, but otherwise holds her peace. When the Civil war begins, a newly pregnant Cora returns to her family home in Maine, while Emory enlists in the army. But he chooses to enlist in the Confederate Army, leaving her to ensure the pity and suspicion���when she refuses to consider divorce���of her neighbours and former friends. Both women wind up trapped by the needs of others, even as their situations become progressively more difficult, and especially for Susannah, dangerous. As the South collapses, Susannah's home becomes a refuge for militia���more than half bandits by this time���and hold-outs from the confederate army, Emory among them.

Why five stars: I admire Barbara Hambly's work, full-stop, the meticulousness of her presentation of history, and her eye for the ambiguities in character, the nuances in power-relations, and the accommodations people make to survive. The epistolatory form works so well for this story, especially the device of the unsent letters in which Susanna writes down the things she dare not tell Cora. The reader has to do just enough work to piece together what is implied rather than said, or mentioned and then filled in after, which gives it the flavour of a real correspondence. I love the details of soap-making, foraging, and survival, and they, too, work as expressed in the letters, where they might not fit easily into a conventional narrative.

[Dylan Brown · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's 1861, two friends Cora Poole and Susanna Ashford are caught up on different sides of the Civil war. The only thing keeping them together is their letters to each other. Over the next 4 years the continue to write letters to each other. Cora Poole is living in the Union and Susanna Ashford is living in the Rebel States. The entire book goes over their daily lives, what they think of the war, what the war has done to their lives and how they are struggling to adapt to the war and being so close to each other but yet so far away. Through out the book the go into depth on why they think each side is in the war and what they are going to do after the war ends. Both of the friends have relatives on each side of the war. In my opinion I did not like the book at all. It was mostly a chic book. If you like books that talk about being outside of the civil war looking in then this is your book to read, if you like action books then stay far away from this book. I found that I had a hard time trying to finish the book.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tells the story of the Civil War on the homefront, in letters between sisters-in-law, one in the North, one in the South. The hardships that each endured were amazing. While some of the relationships were confusing, the story was interesting, the letters were gripping, and the ending was a pleasant surprise.

[Kim Hampton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book consisted of letters exchanged between Susanna, a Southern woman, and Cora, a Northerner, throughout the duration of the Civil War. Although a work of fiction, it paints a realistic picture of what life was like for women during that time, and the hardships and tragedies they endured. A must read for anyone who enjoys historical fiction.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not normally interested in epistolary style novels, but this one was quite well done. The way the author timed the letters - where there was a disconnect between the writing and receiving - was an added layer that really helped in keeping things feeling disconnected during the war.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book, but one that I found a little hard to follow. It didn't "flow" for me.I had to keep looking back to see who was writing.

To explain, this book is the correspondence between two women during the time of the Civil War. One woman (Cora) lives on an island in Maine and the other (Susanna)lives on a plantation in Tennessee. (So I found that I had to keep looking back to see who was writing to whom.)

Another problem I had was that a number of the letters were marked "not sent". I didn't understand that until the end of the book. It would have made more sense had the author explained in the beginning of the book at least a little of what was going on and why some weren't sent and how they all came to be gathered together. When I got to the end I found that it was significant which letters weren't sent and I wished I had paid closer attention to their contents while reading them.

The descriptions and stories were interesting and allowed the reader to see what life might have been like for women during the war in both the North and the South. There was a bit of a feminist agenda being touted in the book, and I wondered if it was "true" to the time and place or something the author chose to incorporate into her writing of her own accord. If only one of the women had had this "agenda" it might have been more "believable" to me--but perhaps my knowledge of the time and place is not accurate.

And something I neglected to mention is that much of the book is about books. Susanna introduces Cora to the world of novels. So there are many many references to books and their characters. Unfortunately, although I have read some of the books they referenced, it's been so long ago that I didn't remember the characters or plots well enough to appreciate the literary references. A better reader than me might enjoy this book for the literary references.

Overall the book is worth reading, but I would suggest paying attention to which letters weren't sent and observing their content vs. the content of those that were sent.

Below are some quotes from the book which I liked...

After the birth of her daughter, Cora writes her mixed feelings of women losing their freedoms and independence, "Is this, then, what it is to be educated, to be trained like athletes for a race we will never be allowed to run?" (pg 63) This partly refers to the lack of opportunities for women in those days.

Regarding her first reading of novels, Cora writes "You will rejoice to hear that I have at last made the acquaintance of your friend Quasimodo the Hunchback, and Esmeralda the Gypsy, and all the others in that astonishing tale. They have helped me through many an endless night. Mother is right, when she says that in reading the Bible, one touches God's hand, and so cannot ever be lonely or afraid. But sometimes one needs to touch the hands of one's fellow humans. Since reading Mr. Dickens, and Miss Austen--and, I blush to report, Mrs. Radcliffe--now you know the depth of my depravity!--I have realized this about novels: they are like conversations, or acquaintanceships, that change us deeply by widening our experience. They are like friends. Naturally my father would warn me against unwholesome conversations, or against the sort of fascinating friends who would lead one into foolish acts by making them seem right and justified. Yet to limit one's friendships to the narrowest of like-minded circles is to become provincial, perhaps self-righteous...like too many people on this island!" (pg 64)

Susanna writes "Mrs. Elliott would say, like your Father, that we should only read what improves out mind, but I don't think that's so. Sometimes we just need to rest our minds, to let our hearts sit quietly next to a warming fire until the chill abates. With dear friends, if our friends are near-by. But if they aren't, then with those other friends--Quasimodo and Eliza Bennet and Mr. Micawber and all the rest." (pg 68)

Susanna writes "I just re-read your letter,...about pretending that it's years and years in the future. I pretend that I'm a little old white-haired lady, writing to you (from where? to where?) and saying, 'Remember how scared I was, when there were bush-whackers and militia fighting all over Green County, and Julia and I had to go live with dreadful Aunt Sally in Vicksburg?' And you'll write back, 'And you see, honey, it all turned out all right.' I want to reach into the future tonight and held that letter in my hand." (pp 70-71)

Susanna (Susie) writes "I usually hate making jelly, because it's always the hottest day of the year, and I burn my hands and get smoke in my eyes and every fly in Mississippi comes to watch...But there's the moment when the jelly 'sets up' and I fell as pleased as if I'd just finished building the Great Pyramid of Egypt, all by myself." (pg 103) Aaah, can't we identify with this?

Cora, while worrying about loved ones during the war, writes "How does the imagination produce so many ways of tormenting oneself? God gave us the capacity to dream into the future, and the gift of faith, double-edged swords that can tear as well as mend. Yet these are the angel elements of our nature..." (pg 123)

Susanna writes to Cora, "My friends here--only they're the kind of friends Miss Austen talks of in Northanger Abby, that are your friend because you happen to be in the same place at the same time--have even less of an idea of doing anything but getting married and raising children. Lately I find myself two different people: who I am with them, and who I am really." (pp 131-132)

After hearing of the death of her brother during the war, Cora writes "I have prayed, and found a little quiet. You have walked this road before me, my friend, and it is as if I can see your lantern ahead of me in the distance." (pg 180)

Cora writes after caring for her invalid mother "I think that looking after Mother has left me worn down, as if my nerves had been sandpapered. She is not the woman that I so deeply loved, yet daily, the hands that I hold are that woman's hands; the voice that asks who that little girl is, is the voice I remember. I am aware of feeling grief for her, like a well of darkness miles deep, but so constant is the need to care for her , and to support Papa's spirits, that I must train myself never to look into that well. Even in David Copperfield, I do not find this depth: this state of keeping the door firmly closed upon deep and genuine agony, because there is nothing else that can be done. All day I am busy and cheerful, and then without warning a single turn of phrase in a poem will eviscerate me with sorrow..." (pg 229)

Cora writes "The Bible speaks often of the wailing of women and orphans in the wake of war, yet never does it recommend searching for ways to avoid war; even as it enjoins slaves to obey their masters, never decrying the evil of slavery itself. I trust that, being inspired by God, there is a good reason for this." (pg 244)

After the death of her mother, Cora writes "...when I grieve for Mother, and wish she was alive again, I mean, Mother as I recall her in her prime--dark-haired, majestic, drily humorous in her Biblical way--not the pain-wracked shadow of those last six months." (pg 304)

[Jacolien · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Homeland', written by Barbara Hambly, tells the story of two women during the American Civil War (which is in my country/surroundings a relatively unknown part of the American history) in a complex and vulnerable way, depicting both Susanna and Cora as women who had a different opinion on the War than those around them. Sadly, I found it difficult to really get into the story at first, as many things aren't clear to the reader. Eventually I found the story more compelling. Besides, I didn't understand why the book contains 2 or 3 letters from people other than Susanna to Cora in the last part of the story, while 99% of the letters in the story are those from Cora to Susie and the other way around. Those 2 letters from other people felt a little out of tone. Overall, I found it very interesting to read, to walk side by side with two women who write to each other and don't want to give up their friendship because of the War, writing about their everyday life and experiences. I really felt the emotions behind the last (not sent) letter Cora wrote to Susie in 1866: heartbreaking! I think the set-up of the story is very well thought-out, the story/letters being devided in 6 parts, covering 1861 to 1869. Writing an epistolary novel - particularly about real historical events - demands a big talent from the author, so compliments for Barbara Hambly!

[Laurey Steinke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tale of two women

At first, the composition of the novel as letters between two friends, annoyed me and I hoped that the narrative would soon start. I was pulled in. The veracity of the events, matched with the emotional intimacy, were fantastic. It has me planning a letter to my dear friend, while I cry, and finish the book at three in the morning. Don’t miss this one!

[Mary Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book gave a good indication of what the citizens experienced during the Civil War from both the perspectives of the North and South. The book got somewhat repetitive with some of the home duties during the year. Overall a good read.

[Erin Bevilacqua · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was very good written from the perspective of two women on separate sides of the Civil War. However, it is all written in letter form, so you still get a story, but it’s letters back-and-forth.

[Sandi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just couldn't. The format.

[Janet Warren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite enjoyed this, history and all!

[Jan D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved all the surprises at the end!

[Joel Lantz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two women spend over five years having a competition in which they complain about who has it worse.

[Jeanne Nichols · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb

[Virginia Myers · Rating 3 out of 5]

My daughter gave me this book – she had bought it in a book sale at our local public library. Now, I am not for sure how a library chooses the books that are appropriate for such sales, but I believe they are books that are either outdated or are not being checked out by the public.

Now this one was not outdated, having been published in 2009 and on a subject which is currently very popular – the American Civil War.

I have no actual evidence that the American public turned its back on this book but I have found some hints that this may be so:

a. I checked on line for a web site which might contain reviews and comments on the book and found only those by sellers of the book. Even the author’s own website contained a couple of sentence on the book being published after a long unexplained delay and it was revealing to me that the page of that web site which supposedly listed all of her books excluded a mention of Homeland. Strange.

b. Also, on Hambly’s own website, I found a question (that went unanswered by the author) from a reader stating she had been searching for suggested review questions and had not found any. I, too, did such a search and came up empty.

Overall, I generally enjoyed the book because it presented an outlook on the war that I had not found before. It is really not about the hardships of the soldiers or the brutality of the battles, instead it is focused on the citizens who were left behind on the “home front” while the war is being fought. It demonstrates that many of them became heroes in their world while some were the equivalent of “deserters”. This seldom realized point of view was well presented.

The book is unabashedly written to show the power of females and as the book covers says to demonstrate the “power of women to change the world”. If this slant would disturb you, I recommend you select another book.

The entire book is laid out in the form of letters between two women who became friends prior to the war. . One woman was born and raised in the south and is close to the actual conflict but her battles involve scrounging for the necessities for survival for herself and those depending upon her, handling the murmuring and complaints of those folks who are mentally and emotionally incapable of handling the stress and hardships, and facing the dangers as a female when groups of militia men invade her home and her. The other is a “Yankee” who happened to marry a man who was originally from the confederacy. When her husband follows his heart and returns to the south to join the confederate army, she is ostracized by her community and some family members. Her hardships are entirely different than those of her friend but just as hard to bear.

Now let me tell you about my problems with the book. I thought the book did drag a little. I wanted to finish the book but at times the book was very easy to lay down and difficult to pick back up. Another problem which impacted the book was the fact that the author realistically introduced the fact that there were periods of time where the war precluded mail service between the two parts of our country. She accommodated this difficulty by the addition of the words “not sent” or “lost” in the headings of the individual letters. I admire that she met this challenge rather than overlooking but sadly it became a little confusing as the readers tried to keep up with what news had been shared and what only written but not shared.

I would be interested in hearing other opinions on why this book seems to have been black balled.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Homeland is primarily about friendship, specifically between two women; Cora living in ME, and Susanna living in TN during the Civil War, but it is also about the relationships we form with characters from books and how books become some of our most coveted friendships.

The story is written in epistle form, with most of the letters written between the two women (many not sent due to lack of mail service, others because of content, and some lost en route). Their letters document the war and the trials and tribulations they must face to endure it. They give each other encouragement and support, even if only imaginary at times since many of their letters are not sent.

Hambly does a good job of portraying the many hardships faced by both sides in the war, and the fact that both sides had resisters, and many were not supportive of the side they were “supposed to be on,” something that is often overlooked in books about the Civil War.

Once the war begins they live very isolated lives, especially Cora, the woman who lives on the small ME Island and has been shunned by neighbors, friends and even her sister-in-law because her husband goes back to his home state of TN to fight for the South. In the South most of Susanna’s friends and neighbors have fled leaving her with only her bleeding-heart confederate sister and the militia with whom to contend. So without much company to interact with they each seek solace and escape in reading novels, although Susanna has to resort to remembering books since she has none physically to read anymore. Hambly pays tribute to classic authors such as Austen, Dickens, Thackery, Homer, Hugo, Cervantes, and Swift among many others. Cora and Susanna talked about the characters as knowingly as friends, questioned their motives and their character at times, and wondered aloud about what happened to them after the story officially ended. They also relate their own situations and reactions to those of characters in the novels, which gives them a sense of validation.

I don’t generally read a lot of “chick lit” but this was better than most and I especially enjoyed her literary allusions which made me remember a lot of my old “friends” whom I haven’t thought about in awhile.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book chronicled two fictional women, one from the North, married to a Southerner, and the other living in TN, and the letters they wrote to one another during the Civil War.

It was interesting to learn about the lives of the women during the war - their hardships varied from losing family, to starvation, rape, abandoment, and disdainment of former "friends."

What I found interesting about this book was the idea of war from a woman's point of view. In this time period, women had few to no rights. A higher education was almost unheard of, as their place was in the home, married and taking care of the children. However, through Cora and Susanna, we see the strength so inherent in many women - to take care of their families, self sacrifice, and be the backbone of their country in times of trouble. While the men were off fighting - it was the women who were left to care for the families, the homes, the fields.

The main characters in this book find their strength in the new novels of Miss Jane Austen, and other female heroines of the time. I enjoyed their conversations about these characters, and found it amazing how the stories Austen wrote are still as relevant today as they were back then.

It was also interesting to see how these women could overlook the fact that they were, in fact, enemies, and were able to maintain their friendship regardless. They brought up a lot of valid points about war - how no one really wins. How the world might be different if women ran it. I found myself often thinking of Mark Twain's The War Prayer. In his short narrative, he writes of this conflict of conscience. That by praying for one side's victory, one is praying for another's death. And what's the point of it all when it comes down to that? How is that a fair thing to ask of God - to choose? If you haven't read it - I would recommend it: http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/making/....

[Juanita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review: Homeland by Barbara Hambly. The book was interesting with the material on the Civil War, the President Lincoln, President Johnson, General Lee, General Grant and information on the troops who fought on each side. All the information about the Military, the wounded , the men who died in battle and the roughness of how the homeland people, mostly women, got through each day trying to survive the lost of love ones, and the blazing of their homes, and hunger, was told by two women.

Susanna and Cora were the best of friends and separated by two husbands who fought on different sides. Susanna and her family stayed in Greene County, Tennessee. Cora and her family went to Boston, Massachusetts and then moved on to Deer Island, Maine. (I just happen to know where that is 26). Even though they were separated they still corresponded back and forth when they could. Sometimes it was hard getting mail traveled to other areas. When this did happen they both still wrote letters and a lot didn 19t get sent but they kept them collected in a hiding place hoping to mail them some day. It helped them to know there was someone out there caring for them. The letter writing caused some friction in their families but they were determined to keep their friendship.

Through these letters is how the Author wrote this book. These two women characters corresponded through letters the entire story about their 19s and other 19s involvement, situation, thoughts, the environment, the weather, and how they all survived day by day.

What kept me reading was the history within the story. The Author 19s writing was great. The entire story had a southern feel to it. I enjoyed it but a little slow reading letter after letter. Some repetitiveness but all in all a good read. There are probably some who don 19t care for the type of format the Author used. It will probably be a while before I read another book with this format. Never less, I enjoyed the content.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would. It took some twists that I did not see coming. I absolutely LOVED how the classical novels (though most were not classical at the time) were such a major part of Susanna's & Cora's life. Susanna is from the South, Cora is from the North. Set during the Civil War. They have totally different backgrounds, but they become fast friends. Cora marries Emory, Susanna's childhood friend. This book takes so many twists and turns. They write letters during the war. Some take months to arrive and others never get there. Cora is not trusted because her husband is fighting for the South. Susanna is not trusted because of her continued friendship with Cora. This is a book that tells the women's side of the Civil War. How they had to keep hearth & home going. How they had to find food. What can happen to women with no one to protect them from men who have not seen their wives and girlfriends in month or years. read this book and find out what happens to Cora and Susanna. Do they both survive? Do they remain friends? I will read more books by Barbara Hambly!

[Barb Heart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two women write to each other during the civil war. one in maine and one in Tennesee. Historically I learned quite a bit. You really got the feel of all the sacrifices in all different ways that everyone no matter what side you held. The destruction - the emotions/shunning/years without kowing - and was surprised by all the deserters...... I think I was taught so much about patriotism etc at this time I didn't stop to think of families whose whole support was by the father, husband, brother. Also has intrigued me to investigate the deals that Lincoln made, and how accurate the state of the White House was at the time when President Andrew Johnson was in office.

It seemed to repeat alot and dragged a bit and yet my goodness the war certainly did too. What an awful time of our history. Reminded of book "Alice's Tulips" letters of two sisters during this time.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this unique take on the Civil War, two women, one from an island in Maine and one from a plantation in Tennessee, become fast friends and begin a correspondence about books & art, love and loss and the futre of their country that continues throughout the war. Even when the letters cannot be delivered, they continue to write, as an outlet for stress and frustration. This book gives us a wonderful understanding of the hardships that innocent people endure during war. It also sings the praises of the strength of women, unable to vote, barely allowed to be schooled, yet left to keep homesteads and family together. You get a deeper understanding of the schedule of daily, weekly, and seasonal chores that needed to be done on a regular basis during this time period. It is a wonderful book about true friendship.

[Libby Ames · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know how I expected a book set during the Civil War to be anything but depressing. Maybe I was hoping for another Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, but this book was not it.

The book was well researched and focused on very interesting and painful aspects of the Civil War. It is a book of letters between two women: Cora, a northern woman married to a southern man who chooses to fight for the South because it is his home and Susanna, a southern women trapped in the South, but with full Northern sympathies.

After reading it, I feel like my mind has been opened to more of history just to feel grateful I live no where near that time. I am so glad that people fought to end slavery and unify the nation, but I am grateful I didn't have to be around to see it happen.

[Tamhack · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the book and the two characters. I liked the format it was written in--letters written back and forth between the two characters. The women were on opposite sides of the war. Their letters gave a good picture of the suffering brought on by the war--especially how the women, children and families were affected. I liked Susanna's character. I was a little disappointed at the end when her actions didn't fall in line with her character. But the author redeemed herself in the end.
One favorite quote from the book: "...Reading the Bible , one touches God's hand and so cannot be lonely or afraid. But sometimes one needs to touch the hands of one's fellow human's." This is what reading novels does.

[Libby · Rating 3 out of 5]

An epistolatory novel of letters between a woman in Maine and another in the south during the Civil War. What is unique is how it shows that not all southerners were on the side of the Confederacy and not all northerners fought for the Union. The devastation and deaths were overwhelming and many of the letters written by the women were not sent until after the war. Often what is not said is important later when you figure out what is going on. Cora (in Maine) begins by saying she doesn't read fiction after receiving a trunk full of books from Susannah (in TN), but later starts reading Jane Austin and Charles Dickens books, sharing her thoughts.

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored this book. For a very long time, I really didn't care for literature about or set during the Civil War. Reading "Gone With the Wind" changed that opinion, so that I'll at least give it a chance.

I've never read anything by Barbara Hambly before, but I really enjoyed this novel. Epistolary novels are some of my favorite types of books (e.g., "Ella Minnow Pea," "The Gurnsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society") and I was excited about reading "Homeland." I grew attached to Sussanah and Cora and I found myself staying up into the wee hours of the morning to keep reading one more letter between the friends.