From Paradise to Hell Marjorie Ann Reeves 9781491714126 Books
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It is 1844 when Alabama-born Rose begins writing a journal. She has just reluctantly agreed to marry Nathan Flowers. The years pass, and together Rose and Nathan have five children. A Chickasaw couple, kin to Nathan by marriage, lives with them and helps Rose settle in and raise a family.
Rose, Nathan, and their five children could have lived happily ever after—but then came the War Between the States. The North and South found themselves divided and Rose is pained when two of her children join the Union, while two others join the Confederacy. Her journal keeps her grounded; if she continues to write, perhaps she can make sense of what’s happening.
Living a normal life during the Civil War is impossible, but Rose does her best to keep calm and care for the remaining members of her family. When the war is over America must rebuild and life is still not easy in the South. The war was difficult for the nation, but it was also hard on individual families. This is the story of one such family, who struggled to love each other despite differing beliefs.
From Paradise to Hell Marjorie Ann Reeves 9781491714126 Books
Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) once said the business of the poet and the novelist is to show the sorriness underlying the grandest things and the grandeur underlying the sorriest things. Marjorie Ann Reeves has accomplished this. The American Civil War was the pivotal event in our nation’s history, showing us at our best and at our worst. Marjorie captures it from the perspective of Rose Elizabeth Flowers, Huntsville, Alabama born and bred.The Tennessee Valley was a region of mixed loyalties during the Civil War, peopled for the most part by good folk trying to prosper. Much of their daily activities, joys, and problems are well recognizable to us today, but the war brought changes – principally daily life under an occupying “foreign” power – that most of us today see only from afar in news reports of wars in other lands. To say the times were trying and difficult would be an understatement. Regardless of individual predisposition to the war, it hardened those that lived it. It tempered feelings and outlooks, particularly as privation ravaged the much of the South during the war and afterwards.
This is a marvelous history of Huntsville and northern Alabama in the era of the Civil War as seen through the eyes of a Southern woman – modern in many respects, but clearly a product of her times and social environment. She was naïve, idealistic, and pure of heart – a Southern lady full of Southern pride. She never really understood the “why” of the war, but she was caught up in it. And she persevered.
Three things I like about this book: First, it has good character development. The characters, while clearly conceived to carry the story, are believable. Marjorie expertly weaves them into the narrative, warts and all. Second, Marjorie did her homework! The book is full of detail on period clothing, customs, personages, locations, events. It is accurate in its rendition of news reports, headlines, weather, fashion, politics, and so forth – not only informative, but a joy to read. Her descriptions of national politics were particularly interesting, often reminiscent of politics today. And then there is the format – a personal journal. It works. Her characters, primary and supporting, are long on opinion and assumptions, and often short on facts. They are of mixed loyalties and opinions, and don’t always get it right, but the trend of feelings towards Union troops and local brigands grows as the war and the occupation progress. It is a blend of fact and history-based fiction, spiced with rumor, exaggerations, and bias as would be expected in any personal narrative.
This book is a great read! I did not know what to expect when I picked it up, but in just a few pages I was hooked. I recommend it highly. Marjorie is a local historian and a storyteller, and this book certainly meets the bar of historical fiction! I eagerly look forward to more storytelling from her.
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Tags : From Paradise to Hell [Marjorie Ann Reeves] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. It is 1844 when Alabama-born Rose begins writing a journal. She has just reluctantly agreed to marry Nathan Flowers. The years pass,Marjorie Ann Reeves,From Paradise to Hell,iUniverse,1491714123,FICTION Historical General,Fiction,Fiction - Historical,Fiction Historical,Historical - General,Historical fiction
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From Paradise to Hell Marjorie Ann Reeves 9781491714126 Books Reviews
Excellent reading about a southern family's experiences during the civil war. The hardships and destruction during and after the war are incredible. This is a accurate history book in a journal presentation. A must read !
Ms. Reeves has written a very insightful book on the hardships and bravery of those who stayed at home during the war. Her characters are warm and believable. Also interesting was Alabama's role in the war. Would love to see a sequel following Laurel and also telling what happened to Nathan and the boys.
I really enjoyed this book and I can definitely recommend it. Once I started reading, I was completely absorbed. I found it to be so informative, as it appears that the historical facts have been expertly researched. And I liked so much the way Nathan and Rose’s family life unfolds. I found their history together quite moving as well as memorable.
I much enjoyed this book. It captures life in Huntsville and northern Alabama before and during the era of the Civil War in a realistic and moving story. The historical facts are very accurate. We have all read books that we could not put down. You will find this is one of those books. The main character Rose meets challenges and heartbreak but she continues life in the only way she knows - loving and caring for people. Her sad experiences were typical of many Southern families during that time. A friend loaned the book to me. After I completed it I knew I wanted my own copy so I purchased it.
I have had the pleasure and privilege of assisting the author, Ms. Marjorie A. Reeves, in editing this book as she wrote it. Her work is an historical fiction, complemented with extensive historical fact, describing how the Flowers family (Rose and her husband, Nathan) lived in the pre-war South and how the inevitable events leading up to the beginning of the Civil War deeply affected this family. The family was torn between supporting both the North and the South; Rose did her best to keep her cherished family together, but the demands of the war effort did create a division within the family. The book, written as a first-person diary of those soul-searing events, ably presents a full perspective of the inexorable events of the Civil War on this close-knit and loving family. My problem in editing this book was that I was pulled into the story line so thoroughly that I couldn't resist the urge to read ahead to see what came next! I only hope that Ms. Reeves is planning a sequel to this captivating, entertaining book!
slow read...however, good product and fast shipping
Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) once said the business of the poet and the novelist is to show the sorriness underlying the grandest things and the grandeur underlying the sorriest things. Marjorie Ann Reeves has accomplished this. The American Civil War was the pivotal event in our nation’s history, showing us at our best and at our worst. Marjorie captures it from the perspective of Rose Elizabeth Flowers, Huntsville, Alabama born and bred.
The Tennessee Valley was a region of mixed loyalties during the Civil War, peopled for the most part by good folk trying to prosper. Much of their daily activities, joys, and problems are well recognizable to us today, but the war brought changes – principally daily life under an occupying “foreign” power – that most of us today see only from afar in news reports of wars in other lands. To say the times were trying and difficult would be an understatement. Regardless of individual predisposition to the war, it hardened those that lived it. It tempered feelings and outlooks, particularly as privation ravaged the much of the South during the war and afterwards.
This is a marvelous history of Huntsville and northern Alabama in the era of the Civil War as seen through the eyes of a Southern woman – modern in many respects, but clearly a product of her times and social environment. She was naïve, idealistic, and pure of heart – a Southern lady full of Southern pride. She never really understood the “why” of the war, but she was caught up in it. And she persevered.
Three things I like about this book First, it has good character development. The characters, while clearly conceived to carry the story, are believable. Marjorie expertly weaves them into the narrative, warts and all. Second, Marjorie did her homework! The book is full of detail on period clothing, customs, personages, locations, events. It is accurate in its rendition of news reports, headlines, weather, fashion, politics, and so forth – not only informative, but a joy to read. Her descriptions of national politics were particularly interesting, often reminiscent of politics today. And then there is the format – a personal journal. It works. Her characters, primary and supporting, are long on opinion and assumptions, and often short on facts. They are of mixed loyalties and opinions, and don’t always get it right, but the trend of feelings towards Union troops and local brigands grows as the war and the occupation progress. It is a blend of fact and history-based fiction, spiced with rumor, exaggerations, and bias as would be expected in any personal narrative.
This book is a great read! I did not know what to expect when I picked it up, but in just a few pages I was hooked. I recommend it highly. Marjorie is a local historian and a storyteller, and this book certainly meets the bar of historical fiction! I eagerly look forward to more storytelling from her.
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