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Publisher:
Perennial / HarperCollins |
Release
Date: April 2004 |
ISBN:
0060959053 |
Awards:
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Format
Reviewed: Trade Paperback |
Buy
it at Amazon |
Read
an Excerpt |
Genre:
Literary / Historical / U.S. Civil War, 1861 |
Reviewed:
2004 |
Reviewer:
Jeanette Clinkunbroomer |
Reviewer
Notes: |
Copyright
MyShelf.com |
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Glory in the Name
A Novel
of the Confederate Navy
By James L. Nelson
The
novel opens with Samuel Bowater, a native of Charleston, S.C., calmly
painting from life his view of the bombardment of Fort Sumter, the
flashpoint of the Civil War. Both a southern patrician and a U.S.
Navy officer, Bowater takes no sides politically, but through family
connections he’s commissioned captain of a converted tugboat
in the ragtag Confederate Navy. His crew is a small and well-drawn
assortment of individuals, including Hieronymus Taylor, a prickly
character who is as talented an engineer as a violinist. Wendy Atkins,
also a painter, sparks the romantic interest.
As
the war explodes in the East, Mississippi planter Robley Paine sees
his three sons off to war. Hearing confused accounts of their misfortunes
in battle, Paine launches a mad campaign to fight the Yankees on
his own. He buys and equips an ironclad river gunboat, then offers
it to the Confederate Navy. Capt. Bowater arrives to take command
only weeks before New Orleans is attacked in a spectacular sea battle.
Glory
in the Name reflects careful historical research, from the
battles it recounts to the workings of steam-powered vessels. Nelson’s
elegant style evokes both the perils and joys of life for the outgunned
Confederate Navy. The characters are well-rounded, yet don’t
tell all they know and feel. The result is a richly textured story,
and one that leaves the reader wanting more. Nelson already has
written two historical sagas, and this book begins a third. While
an engaging read by itself, it lays a solid foundation for more
to come.
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