Barbara Hambly, Homeland

In 1861 Cora Poole just married Tennessean Emory, but while he fights for the Confederacy he leaves his new bride and infant child safe with her relatives in Deer Isle, Maine. Emory's neighbor in Greene County, Susanna Ashford loves the arts and would like to attend school in Philadelphia, but the Civil War prevents her.

Susanna and Cora become pen pals sharing their dreams and disappointments. Susanna nurses the injured and sick while Cora cares for her baby and demented mother. Each does what they can to support the troops and their family, but have the letters over the next four years to give them solace as lifestyles die on the battlefields.

Homeland is a very creative refreshing look at how the Civil War divided families especially through the letters exchanged between the lead two women. Cora and Susanna drive the epic historical as their correspondence changes over the four years of the war. Fans looking for something refreshing, brisk, and unique will want to read Barbara Hambly's super insightful Civil War saga.

Harriet Klausner