The Savannah Civil War Trilogy
3 novels of late Civil War Savannah -- each story different
by Lawrence Martin
Sherman's Mistress in Savannah
YEAR PUBLISHED: 2012
HISTORICAL PERIOD: General Sherman's occupation of Savannah Georgia, Dec 1864-Jan 1865.
PROTAGONISTS: General Sherman, commander of 60,000 men who just marched from Atlanta to Savannah;
Belle Anderson, a young widow with a child, who becomes his mistress.
BLURB ABOUT BOOK: After their infamous 'March to the Sea', General William Tecumseh Sherman
and his 60,000 man army occupied Savannah during December 1864 - January 1865. Sherman took as his
army headquarters the mansion of Englishman Charles Green on Madison Square. Against this historical
backdrop the novel introduces a young war widow, Belle Anderson, who becomes the general's willing mistress.
She discovers true sexual freedom and something else -- a bordello operator who stalks her at night and
threatens to expose the affair.
"Sherman's Mistress" interweaves the fictional story with many historical characters of the period,
including Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, Savannah Mayor Richard Arnold, diarist Fanny Yates Cohen,
blockade runner Gazaway Lamar, Major Henry Hitchcock, and Union Generals John Geary and Jefferson C. Davis
WHAT'S REAL: General Sherman, the occupation of Savannah, all dates and the locale
WHAT'S FICTION: The story. There is no evidence General Sherman had a mistress in Savannah
WHAT'S COMPELLING: Interweaving an historically accurate backdrop with a plausible what-if scenario
WHAT TIES THIS BOOK TO THE OTHER 2 BOOKS: Same period of the Civil War. Historically accurate description of Civil War Savannah in
1864-1865. Use of historic documents to authenticate the time period. General Sherman appears in all three books.
COMPARE TO: Savannah: Or A Gift For Mr. Lincoln, by John Jakes, another fictional tale that takes place during
General Sherman's occupation of Savannah. (Note the stories are completely different. A Gift is a light-hearted tale, with
one of the protagonists a 12-year-old girl; Mistress is an adult romance.)
AVAILABLE IN: Print and e-book.
AMAZON LINK: Click here
5-STAR AMAZON REVIEW: "Sherman's Mistress in Savannah is a wonderful book. The relationship of General Sherman and his southern
mistress was entirely plausible. Although this was a story about an illicit affair there was nothing
explicit to offend even young readers. The supporting characters from local Savannah residents to Union
soldiers fit the time and location. The story moved quickly and had no scenes that slowed the flow.
I had a difficult time putting it down and finished it in two days.
I have recommended Sherman's Mistress to my writing critique group as an excellent historical novel."
Out of Time: An alternative outcome to the Civil War
YEAR PUBLISHED: 2014
HISTORICAL PERIOD: Late Civil War, from November 1864 to war's end
PROTAGONISTS: Young lovers Jimmy Barnett and Julia Goodfellow
BLURB ABOUT BOOK: It is November 1864 and General Sherman’s army is marching through Georgia.
Sherman has recently burned much of Atlanta and meets very little opposition as his 60,000-man army aims for Savannah.
General Hood’s Confederate army will soon be defeated in Tennessee by General Thomas’s Union forces.
General Grant is squeezing the vise he has placed around Petersburg, and the Confederate capital Richmond is threatened.
General Lee’s troops are demoralized, many shoeless, and some are deserting to return home so they can help feed and
protect their family. The South has all but lost the Civil War and leaders on both sides sense the end is near.
It is just a matter of time, yet the Confederates do not give up or in. They are hoping for a miracle.
Across the ocean comes a foreign fleet of submarines, promising to save the South from inevitable defeat.
Is that possible? What could be their motive? And why -- oh why -- do they come at the last hour?
WHAT'S REAL: Everything about the Civil War up until the time German WWI submarines arrive off the Georgia coast in November 1864
WHAT'S FICTION: The course of the Civil War after the German subs reach the Georgia coast and land in Savannah
WHAT'S COMPELLING: The story of WHY Kaiser Wilhelm II decides to send his subs back in time. Then the story of HOW their arrival in Civil
War Georgia, on the eve of all but certain defeat for the Confederacy, alters the course of the war.
WHAT TIES THIS BOOK TO THE OTHER 2 BOOKS: Same period of the Civil War. Historically accurate description of Civil War Savannah in
1864-1865. Use of historic documents to authenticate the time period. General Sherman appears in all three books.
COMPARE TO: Guns of the South, by Harry Turtledove, which also employs a time machine to alter the course
of the Civil War, but for a wholly different purpose. Except for the fictional conceit of a time machine (used by
many authors in this genre), the stories are completely different.
AVAILABLE IN: Print and e-book.
AMAZON LINK: Click here
5-STAR AMAZON REVIEW: "Out of Time is an outstanding alternative historical novel. The basic premise of time
travel--forward or backward--is essential to this genre and is handled well. Germany in World War I certainly
wanted to win the conflict and would logically take extraordinary measures to defeat the Allies. I particularly
appreciated the author's detailed research on the US Civil War. The characters--from privates to generals and the
Confederate and US presidents--were believable. Their actions and reactions to the changing military balance were
logical and described clearly. The violence was not gratuitous, but enhanced the authenticity. The authors treatment
of the South's military objectives and reality about the future of slavery were excellent and thought provoking.
I am looking forward to a sequel."
Liberty Street: A Novel of Late Civil War Savannah
YEAR PUBLISHED: 2017
HISTORICAL PERIOD: Late Civil War Savannah, from Dec 1864 to May 1865
PROTAGONISTS: Abigale Tate, a war widow; Rufus Simms, a free-black Reverend of a local church.
BLURB ABOUT BOOK:Abigale Tate, 24, has lost her father and husband in the Civil War, and now General Sherman
is about to invade Savannah. She feels despondent and cynical. She attends a black church and is enthralled by
the reverend, a free colored man. They have a furtive affair, which ends when she meets a Yankee major.
Along the way she is beset by a teenage sister who has no boundaries in seeking love,
a stalking German immigrant, and an outlaw brother who is hunted by the very man she hopes to marry.
WHAT'S REAL: Everything about Civil War Savannah during this period, except for the fictional characters
WHAT'S FICTION: Abigale Tate and her family, assorted other characters and their interactions with historical figures
WHAT'S COMPELLING: The story of a woman who has lost her father and husband in the war, and the length she goes to erase
her melancholy and find true love
WHAT TIES THIS BOOK TO THE OTHER 2 BOOKS: Same period of the Civil War. Historically accurate description of Civil War Savannah in
1864-1865. Use of historic documents to authenticate the time period. General Sherman appears in all three books.
COMPARE TO: Gone With The Wind, by Margaret Mitchell. Like Scarlett O'Hara, Abigale Tate is a woman scarred by the Civil War.
Will she end up spurned like Scarlett, or find true love and happiness?
AVAILABLE IN: E-book (Kindle) and print.
AMAZON LINK: Click here
5-STAR AMAZON REVIEW: "I'm from Georgia and have a deep interest in Civil War fiction based anywhere in the state. Martin's latest Civil War novel,
like his first two, centers on Savannah. He has clearly done a great deal of research to infuse his book with an authentic background
(it takes place from just before Sherman's arrival to Savannah in December 1864 until just after the end of the war). LIBERTY STREET is basically a
complex love story about a family of three women in one household. Two are war widows, the mother and older daughter; the third, a younger daughter,
is a blossoming teen. The older daughter, Abigale, is 24, and most of the novel is told from her point of view.
In their own way, each of these women seeks a male relationship, but it's not so easy when all the eligible white southern men are dead,
wounded, or off fighting the war. Expect the unconventional to happen, which for some readers may seem highly implausible. Can a white
southern woman really take up with a free black male? Or a Yankee officer? At first, I thought, 'no way', but the story deals
head on with our notions of civilian during war time. There is far more to the story,
of course, including subplots about Abigale's renegade brother, Johnny, and her domestic slave, Polly, who is freed upon Sherman's arrival.
We also see how Sherman's "40 acres and a mule" order evolved, and its impact on the newly-freed slaves. By book's end, if you have any interest
in historical fiction, you should feel both satisfied and enlightened. It's a story well told, and deserving of five stars."
AWARDS: LIBERTY STREET won 2nd place in the 2018 Florida Writers Association Royal Palm Literary Awards, category Published Historical Fiction.
Other Savannah/Civil War links from Lakeside Press:
Civil War Savannah: 1861-1862 |
Civil War Savannah: 1863-1865 |
Sherman's Mistress in Savannah: A Novel (Click on cover for link to Amazon Kindle) |
Out of Time: An alternative outcome to the Civil War (Click on cover for link to Amazon Kindle) |
Sherman's Memoirs: Savannah -- A Play in 2 Acts |
Civil War Fiction |
Sex in the Civil War |
Summary of all lp.com Civil War web sites |
Return to Lakeside Press
E-mail comments to Lawrence Martin
YEAR PUBLISHED: 2012
HISTORICAL PERIOD: General Sherman's occupation of Savannah Georgia, Dec 1864-Jan 1865.
PROTAGONISTS: General Sherman, commander of 60,000 men who just marched from Atlanta to Savannah;
Belle Anderson, a young widow with a child, who becomes his mistress.
BLURB ABOUT BOOK: After their infamous 'March to the Sea', General William Tecumseh Sherman
and his 60,000 man army occupied Savannah during December 1864 - January 1865. Sherman took as his
army headquarters the mansion of Englishman Charles Green on Madison Square. Against this historical
backdrop the novel introduces a young war widow, Belle Anderson, who becomes the general's willing mistress.
She discovers true sexual freedom and something else -- a bordello operator who stalks her at night and
threatens to expose the affair.
"Sherman's Mistress" interweaves the fictional story with many historical characters of the period,
including Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, Savannah Mayor Richard Arnold, diarist Fanny Yates Cohen,
blockade runner Gazaway Lamar, Major Henry Hitchcock, and Union Generals John Geary and Jefferson C. Davis
WHAT'S REAL: General Sherman, the occupation of Savannah, all dates and the locale
WHAT'S FICTION: The story. There is no evidence General Sherman had a mistress in Savannah
WHAT'S COMPELLING: Interweaving an historically accurate backdrop with a plausible what-if scenario
WHAT TIES THIS BOOK TO THE OTHER 2 BOOKS: Same period of the Civil War. Historically accurate description of Civil War Savannah in
1864-1865. Use of historic documents to authenticate the time period. General Sherman appears in all three books.
COMPARE TO: Savannah: Or A Gift For Mr. Lincoln, by John Jakes, another fictional tale that takes place during
General Sherman's occupation of Savannah. (Note the stories are completely different. A Gift is a light-hearted tale, with
one of the protagonists a 12-year-old girl; Mistress is an adult romance.)
AVAILABLE IN: Print and e-book.
AMAZON LINK: Click here
5-STAR AMAZON REVIEW: "Sherman's Mistress in Savannah is a wonderful book. The relationship of General Sherman and his southern
mistress was entirely plausible. Although this was a story about an illicit affair there was nothing
explicit to offend even young readers. The supporting characters from local Savannah residents to Union
soldiers fit the time and location. The story moved quickly and had no scenes that slowed the flow.
I had a difficult time putting it down and finished it in two days.
I have recommended Sherman's Mistress to my writing critique group as an excellent historical novel."
Out of Time: An alternative outcome to the Civil War
YEAR PUBLISHED: 2014
HISTORICAL PERIOD: Late Civil War, from November 1864 to war's end
PROTAGONISTS: Young lovers Jimmy Barnett and Julia Goodfellow
BLURB ABOUT BOOK: It is November 1864 and General Sherman’s army is marching through Georgia.
Sherman has recently burned much of Atlanta and meets very little opposition as his 60,000-man army aims for Savannah.
General Hood’s Confederate army will soon be defeated in Tennessee by General Thomas’s Union forces.
General Grant is squeezing the vise he has placed around Petersburg, and the Confederate capital Richmond is threatened.
General Lee’s troops are demoralized, many shoeless, and some are deserting to return home so they can help feed and
protect their family. The South has all but lost the Civil War and leaders on both sides sense the end is near.
It is just a matter of time, yet the Confederates do not give up or in. They are hoping for a miracle.
Across the ocean comes a foreign fleet of submarines, promising to save the South from inevitable defeat.
Is that possible? What could be their motive? And why -- oh why -- do they come at the last hour?
WHAT'S REAL: Everything about the Civil War up until the time German WWI submarines arrive off the Georgia coast in November 1864
WHAT'S FICTION: The course of the Civil War after the German subs reach the Georgia coast and land in Savannah
WHAT'S COMPELLING: The story of WHY Kaiser Wilhelm II decides to send his subs back in time. Then the story of HOW their arrival in Civil
War Georgia, on the eve of all but certain defeat for the Confederacy, alters the course of the war.
WHAT TIES THIS BOOK TO THE OTHER 2 BOOKS: Same period of the Civil War. Historically accurate description of Civil War Savannah in
1864-1865. Use of historic documents to authenticate the time period. General Sherman appears in all three books.
COMPARE TO: Guns of the South, by Harry Turtledove, which also employs a time machine to alter the course
of the Civil War, but for a wholly different purpose. Except for the fictional conceit of a time machine (used by
many authors in this genre), the stories are completely different.
AVAILABLE IN: Print and e-book.
AMAZON LINK: Click here
5-STAR AMAZON REVIEW: "Out of Time is an outstanding alternative historical novel. The basic premise of time
travel--forward or backward--is essential to this genre and is handled well. Germany in World War I certainly
wanted to win the conflict and would logically take extraordinary measures to defeat the Allies. I particularly
appreciated the author's detailed research on the US Civil War. The characters--from privates to generals and the
Confederate and US presidents--were believable. Their actions and reactions to the changing military balance were
logical and described clearly. The violence was not gratuitous, but enhanced the authenticity. The authors treatment
of the South's military objectives and reality about the future of slavery were excellent and thought provoking.
I am looking forward to a sequel."
Liberty Street: A Novel of Late Civil War Savannah
YEAR PUBLISHED: 2017
HISTORICAL PERIOD: Late Civil War Savannah, from Dec 1864 to May 1865
PROTAGONISTS: Abigale Tate, a war widow; Rufus Simms, a free-black Reverend of a local church.
BLURB ABOUT BOOK:Abigale Tate, 24, has lost her father and husband in the Civil War, and now General Sherman
is about to invade Savannah. She feels despondent and cynical. She attends a black church and is enthralled by
the reverend, a free colored man. They have a furtive affair, which ends when she meets a Yankee major.
Along the way she is beset by a teenage sister who has no boundaries in seeking love,
a stalking German immigrant, and an outlaw brother who is hunted by the very man she hopes to marry.
WHAT'S REAL: Everything about Civil War Savannah during this period, except for the fictional characters
WHAT'S FICTION: Abigale Tate and her family, assorted other characters and their interactions with historical figures
WHAT'S COMPELLING: The story of a woman who has lost her father and husband in the war, and the length she goes to erase
her melancholy and find true love
WHAT TIES THIS BOOK TO THE OTHER 2 BOOKS: Same period of the Civil War. Historically accurate description of Civil War Savannah in
1864-1865. Use of historic documents to authenticate the time period. General Sherman appears in all three books.
COMPARE TO: Gone With The Wind, by Margaret Mitchell. Like Scarlett O'Hara, Abigale Tate is a woman scarred by the Civil War.
Will she end up spurned like Scarlett, or find true love and happiness?
AVAILABLE IN: E-book (Kindle) and print.
AMAZON LINK: Click here
5-STAR AMAZON REVIEW: "I'm from Georgia and have a deep interest in Civil War fiction based anywhere in the state. Martin's latest Civil War novel,
like his first two, centers on Savannah. He has clearly done a great deal of research to infuse his book with an authentic background
(it takes place from just before Sherman's arrival to Savannah in December 1864 until just after the end of the war). LIBERTY STREET is basically a
complex love story about a family of three women in one household. Two are war widows, the mother and older daughter; the third, a younger daughter,
is a blossoming teen. The older daughter, Abigale, is 24, and most of the novel is told from her point of view.
In their own way, each of these women seeks a male relationship, but it's not so easy when all the eligible white southern men are dead,
wounded, or off fighting the war. Expect the unconventional to happen, which for some readers may seem highly implausible. Can a white
southern woman really take up with a free black male? Or a Yankee officer? At first, I thought, 'no way', but the story deals
head on with our notions of civilian during war time. There is far more to the story,
of course, including subplots about Abigale's renegade brother, Johnny, and her domestic slave, Polly, who is freed upon Sherman's arrival.
We also see how Sherman's "40 acres and a mule" order evolved, and its impact on the newly-freed slaves. By book's end, if you have any interest
in historical fiction, you should feel both satisfied and enlightened. It's a story well told, and deserving of five stars."
AWARDS: LIBERTY STREET won 2nd place in the 2018 Florida Writers Association Royal Palm Literary Awards, category Published Historical Fiction.
Other Savannah/Civil War links from Lakeside Press:
Civil War Savannah: 1861-1862 |
Civil War Savannah: 1863-1865 |
Sherman's Mistress in Savannah: A Novel (Click on cover for link to Amazon Kindle) |
Out of Time: An alternative outcome to the Civil War (Click on cover for link to Amazon Kindle) |
Sherman's Memoirs: Savannah -- A Play in 2 Acts |
Civil War Fiction |
Sex in the Civil War |
Summary of all lp.com Civil War web sites |
Return to Lakeside Press
E-mail comments to Lawrence Martin
BLURB ABOUT BOOK: After their infamous 'March to the Sea', General William Tecumseh Sherman
and his 60,000 man army occupied Savannah during December 1864 - January 1865. Sherman took as his
army headquarters the mansion of Englishman Charles Green on Madison Square. Against this historical
backdrop the novel introduces a young war widow, Belle Anderson, who becomes the general's willing mistress.
She discovers true sexual freedom and something else -- a bordello operator who stalks her at night and
threatens to expose the affair.
"Sherman's Mistress" interweaves the fictional story with many historical characters of the period,
including Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, Savannah Mayor Richard Arnold, diarist Fanny Yates Cohen,
blockade runner Gazaway Lamar, Major Henry Hitchcock, and Union Generals John Geary and Jefferson C. DavisWHAT'S FICTION: The story. There is no evidence General Sherman had a mistress in Savannah
WHAT'S COMPELLING: Interweaving an historically accurate backdrop with a plausible what-if scenario
WHAT TIES THIS BOOK TO THE OTHER 2 BOOKS: Same period of the Civil War. Historically accurate description of Civil War Savannah in 1864-1865. Use of historic documents to authenticate the time period. General Sherman appears in all three books.
COMPARE TO: Savannah: Or A Gift For Mr. Lincoln, by John Jakes, another fictional tale that takes place during General Sherman's occupation of Savannah. (Note the stories are completely different. A Gift is a light-hearted tale, with one of the protagonists a 12-year-old girl; Mistress is an adult romance.)
AVAILABLE IN: Print and e-book.
AMAZON LINK: Click here
5-STAR AMAZON REVIEW: "Sherman's Mistress in Savannah is a wonderful book. The relationship of General Sherman and his southern mistress was entirely plausible. Although this was a story about an illicit affair there was nothing explicit to offend even young readers. The supporting characters from local Savannah residents to Union soldiers fit the time and location. The story moved quickly and had no scenes that slowed the flow. I had a difficult time putting it down and finished it in two days. I have recommended Sherman's Mistress to my writing critique group as an excellent historical novel."
Out of Time: An alternative outcome to the Civil War
YEAR PUBLISHED: 2014
HISTORICAL PERIOD: Late Civil War, from November 1864 to war's end
PROTAGONISTS: Young lovers Jimmy Barnett and Julia Goodfellow
BLURB ABOUT BOOK: It is November 1864 and General Sherman’s army is marching through Georgia.
Sherman has recently burned much of Atlanta and meets very little opposition as his 60,000-man army aims for Savannah.
General Hood’s Confederate army will soon be defeated in Tennessee by General Thomas’s Union forces.
General Grant is squeezing the vise he has placed around Petersburg, and the Confederate capital Richmond is threatened.
General Lee’s troops are demoralized, many shoeless, and some are deserting to return home so they can help feed and
protect their family. The South has all but lost the Civil War and leaders on both sides sense the end is near.
It is just a matter of time, yet the Confederates do not give up or in. They are hoping for a miracle.
Across the ocean comes a foreign fleet of submarines, promising to save the South from inevitable defeat.
Is that possible? What could be their motive? And why -- oh why -- do they come at the last hour?
WHAT'S REAL: Everything about the Civil War up until the time German WWI submarines arrive off the Georgia coast in November 1864
WHAT'S FICTION: The course of the Civil War after the German subs reach the Georgia coast and land in Savannah
WHAT'S COMPELLING: The story of WHY Kaiser Wilhelm II decides to send his subs back in time. Then the story of HOW their arrival in Civil
War Georgia, on the eve of all but certain defeat for the Confederacy, alters the course of the war.
WHAT TIES THIS BOOK TO THE OTHER 2 BOOKS: Same period of the Civil War. Historically accurate description of Civil War Savannah in
1864-1865. Use of historic documents to authenticate the time period. General Sherman appears in all three books.
COMPARE TO: Guns of the South, by Harry Turtledove, which also employs a time machine to alter the course
of the Civil War, but for a wholly different purpose. Except for the fictional conceit of a time machine (used by
many authors in this genre), the stories are completely different.
AVAILABLE IN: Print and e-book.
AMAZON LINK: Click here
5-STAR AMAZON REVIEW: "Out of Time is an outstanding alternative historical novel. The basic premise of time
travel--forward or backward--is essential to this genre and is handled well. Germany in World War I certainly
wanted to win the conflict and would logically take extraordinary measures to defeat the Allies. I particularly
appreciated the author's detailed research on the US Civil War. The characters--from privates to generals and the
Confederate and US presidents--were believable. Their actions and reactions to the changing military balance were
logical and described clearly. The violence was not gratuitous, but enhanced the authenticity. The authors treatment
of the South's military objectives and reality about the future of slavery were excellent and thought provoking.
I am looking forward to a sequel."
Liberty Street: A Novel of Late Civil War Savannah
YEAR PUBLISHED: 2017
HISTORICAL PERIOD: Late Civil War Savannah, from Dec 1864 to May 1865
PROTAGONISTS: Abigale Tate, a war widow; Rufus Simms, a free-black Reverend of a local church.
BLURB ABOUT BOOK:Abigale Tate, 24, has lost her father and husband in the Civil War, and now General Sherman
is about to invade Savannah. She feels despondent and cynical. She attends a black church and is enthralled by
the reverend, a free colored man. They have a furtive affair, which ends when she meets a Yankee major.
Along the way she is beset by a teenage sister who has no boundaries in seeking love,
a stalking German immigrant, and an outlaw brother who is hunted by the very man she hopes to marry.
WHAT'S REAL: Everything about Civil War Savannah during this period, except for the fictional characters
WHAT'S FICTION: Abigale Tate and her family, assorted other characters and their interactions with historical figures
WHAT'S COMPELLING: The story of a woman who has lost her father and husband in the war, and the length she goes to erase
her melancholy and find true love
WHAT TIES THIS BOOK TO THE OTHER 2 BOOKS: Same period of the Civil War. Historically accurate description of Civil War Savannah in
1864-1865. Use of historic documents to authenticate the time period. General Sherman appears in all three books.
COMPARE TO: Gone With The Wind, by Margaret Mitchell. Like Scarlett O'Hara, Abigale Tate is a woman scarred by the Civil War.
Will she end up spurned like Scarlett, or find true love and happiness?
AVAILABLE IN: E-book (Kindle) and print.
AMAZON LINK: Click here
5-STAR AMAZON REVIEW: "I'm from Georgia and have a deep interest in Civil War fiction based anywhere in the state. Martin's latest Civil War novel,
like his first two, centers on Savannah. He has clearly done a great deal of research to infuse his book with an authentic background
(it takes place from just before Sherman's arrival to Savannah in December 1864 until just after the end of the war). LIBERTY STREET is basically a
complex love story about a family of three women in one household. Two are war widows, the mother and older daughter; the third, a younger daughter,
is a blossoming teen. The older daughter, Abigale, is 24, and most of the novel is told from her point of view.
In their own way, each of these women seeks a male relationship, but it's not so easy when all the eligible white southern men are dead,
wounded, or off fighting the war. Expect the unconventional to happen, which for some readers may seem highly implausible. Can a white
southern woman really take up with a free black male? Or a Yankee officer? At first, I thought, 'no way', but the story deals
head on with our notions of civilian during war time. There is far more to the story,
of course, including subplots about Abigale's renegade brother, Johnny, and her domestic slave, Polly, who is freed upon Sherman's arrival.
We also see how Sherman's "40 acres and a mule" order evolved, and its impact on the newly-freed slaves. By book's end, if you have any interest
in historical fiction, you should feel both satisfied and enlightened. It's a story well told, and deserving of five stars."
AWARDS: LIBERTY STREET won 2nd place in the 2018 Florida Writers Association Royal Palm Literary Awards, category Published Historical Fiction.
Other Savannah/Civil War links from Lakeside Press:
Civil War Savannah: 1861-1862 |
Civil War Savannah: 1863-1865 |
Sherman's Mistress in Savannah: A Novel (Click on cover for link to Amazon Kindle) |
Out of Time: An alternative outcome to the Civil War (Click on cover for link to Amazon Kindle) |
Sherman's Memoirs: Savannah -- A Play in 2 Acts |
Civil War Fiction |
Sex in the Civil War |
Summary of all lp.com Civil War web sites |
Return to Lakeside Press
E-mail comments to Lawrence Martin
BLURB ABOUT BOOK: It is November 1864 and General Sherman’s army is marching through Georgia.
Sherman has recently burned much of Atlanta and meets very little opposition as his 60,000-man army aims for Savannah.
General Hood’s Confederate army will soon be defeated in Tennessee by General Thomas’s Union forces.
General Grant is squeezing the vise he has placed around Petersburg, and the Confederate capital Richmond is threatened.
General Lee’s troops are demoralized, many shoeless, and some are deserting to return home so they can help feed and
protect their family. The South has all but lost the Civil War and leaders on both sides sense the end is near.
It is just a matter of time, yet the Confederates do not give up or in. They are hoping for a miracle.
Across the ocean comes a foreign fleet of submarines, promising to save the South from inevitable defeat.
Is that possible? What could be their motive? And why -- oh why -- do they come at the last hour?WHAT'S FICTION: The course of the Civil War after the German subs reach the Georgia coast and land in Savannah
WHAT'S COMPELLING: The story of WHY Kaiser Wilhelm II decides to send his subs back in time. Then the story of HOW their arrival in Civil War Georgia, on the eve of all but certain defeat for the Confederacy, alters the course of the war.
WHAT TIES THIS BOOK TO THE OTHER 2 BOOKS: Same period of the Civil War. Historically accurate description of Civil War Savannah in 1864-1865. Use of historic documents to authenticate the time period. General Sherman appears in all three books.
COMPARE TO: Guns of the South, by Harry Turtledove, which also employs a time machine to alter the course of the Civil War, but for a wholly different purpose. Except for the fictional conceit of a time machine (used by many authors in this genre), the stories are completely different.
AVAILABLE IN: Print and e-book.
AMAZON LINK: Click here
5-STAR AMAZON REVIEW: "Out of Time is an outstanding alternative historical novel. The basic premise of time travel--forward or backward--is essential to this genre and is handled well. Germany in World War I certainly wanted to win the conflict and would logically take extraordinary measures to defeat the Allies. I particularly appreciated the author's detailed research on the US Civil War. The characters--from privates to generals and the Confederate and US presidents--were believable. Their actions and reactions to the changing military balance were logical and described clearly. The violence was not gratuitous, but enhanced the authenticity. The authors treatment of the South's military objectives and reality about the future of slavery were excellent and thought provoking. I am looking forward to a sequel."
Liberty Street: A Novel of Late Civil War Savannah
YEAR PUBLISHED: 2017
HISTORICAL PERIOD: Late Civil War Savannah, from Dec 1864 to May 1865
PROTAGONISTS: Abigale Tate, a war widow; Rufus Simms, a free-black Reverend of a local church.
BLURB ABOUT BOOK:Abigale Tate, 24, has lost her father and husband in the Civil War, and now General Sherman
is about to invade Savannah. She feels despondent and cynical. She attends a black church and is enthralled by
the reverend, a free colored man. They have a furtive affair, which ends when she meets a Yankee major.
Along the way she is beset by a teenage sister who has no boundaries in seeking love,
a stalking German immigrant, and an outlaw brother who is hunted by the very man she hopes to marry.
WHAT'S REAL: Everything about Civil War Savannah during this period, except for the fictional characters
WHAT'S FICTION: Abigale Tate and her family, assorted other characters and their interactions with historical figures
WHAT'S COMPELLING: The story of a woman who has lost her father and husband in the war, and the length she goes to erase
her melancholy and find true love
WHAT TIES THIS BOOK TO THE OTHER 2 BOOKS: Same period of the Civil War. Historically accurate description of Civil War Savannah in
1864-1865. Use of historic documents to authenticate the time period. General Sherman appears in all three books.
COMPARE TO: Gone With The Wind, by Margaret Mitchell. Like Scarlett O'Hara, Abigale Tate is a woman scarred by the Civil War.
Will she end up spurned like Scarlett, or find true love and happiness?
AVAILABLE IN: E-book (Kindle) and print.
AMAZON LINK: Click here
5-STAR AMAZON REVIEW: "I'm from Georgia and have a deep interest in Civil War fiction based anywhere in the state. Martin's latest Civil War novel,
like his first two, centers on Savannah. He has clearly done a great deal of research to infuse his book with an authentic background
(it takes place from just before Sherman's arrival to Savannah in December 1864 until just after the end of the war). LIBERTY STREET is basically a
complex love story about a family of three women in one household. Two are war widows, the mother and older daughter; the third, a younger daughter,
is a blossoming teen. The older daughter, Abigale, is 24, and most of the novel is told from her point of view.
In their own way, each of these women seeks a male relationship, but it's not so easy when all the eligible white southern men are dead,
wounded, or off fighting the war. Expect the unconventional to happen, which for some readers may seem highly implausible. Can a white
southern woman really take up with a free black male? Or a Yankee officer? At first, I thought, 'no way', but the story deals
head on with our notions of civilian during war time. There is far more to the story,
of course, including subplots about Abigale's renegade brother, Johnny, and her domestic slave, Polly, who is freed upon Sherman's arrival.
We also see how Sherman's "40 acres and a mule" order evolved, and its impact on the newly-freed slaves. By book's end, if you have any interest
in historical fiction, you should feel both satisfied and enlightened. It's a story well told, and deserving of five stars."
AWARDS: LIBERTY STREET won 2nd place in the 2018 Florida Writers Association Royal Palm Literary Awards, category Published Historical Fiction.
Other Savannah/Civil War links from Lakeside Press:
Civil War Savannah: 1861-1862 |
Civil War Savannah: 1863-1865 |
Sherman's Mistress in Savannah: A Novel (Click on cover for link to Amazon Kindle) |
Out of Time: An alternative outcome to the Civil War (Click on cover for link to Amazon Kindle) |
Sherman's Memoirs: Savannah -- A Play in 2 Acts |
Civil War Fiction |
Sex in the Civil War |
Summary of all lp.com Civil War web sites |
Return to Lakeside Press
E-mail comments to Lawrence Martin
BLURB ABOUT BOOK:Abigale Tate, 24, has lost her father and husband in the Civil War, and now General Sherman
is about to invade Savannah. She feels despondent and cynical. She attends a black church and is enthralled by
the reverend, a free colored man. They have a furtive affair, which ends when she meets a Yankee major.
Along the way she is beset by a teenage sister who has no boundaries in seeking love,
a stalking German immigrant, and an outlaw brother who is hunted by the very man she hopes to marry.WHAT'S FICTION: Abigale Tate and her family, assorted other characters and their interactions with historical figures
WHAT'S COMPELLING: The story of a woman who has lost her father and husband in the war, and the length she goes to erase her melancholy and find true love
WHAT TIES THIS BOOK TO THE OTHER 2 BOOKS: Same period of the Civil War. Historically accurate description of Civil War Savannah in 1864-1865. Use of historic documents to authenticate the time period. General Sherman appears in all three books.
COMPARE TO: Gone With The Wind, by Margaret Mitchell. Like Scarlett O'Hara, Abigale Tate is a woman scarred by the Civil War. Will she end up spurned like Scarlett, or find true love and happiness?
AVAILABLE IN: E-book (Kindle) and print.
AMAZON LINK: Click here
5-STAR AMAZON REVIEW: "I'm from Georgia and have a deep interest in Civil War fiction based anywhere in the state. Martin's latest Civil War novel, like his first two, centers on Savannah. He has clearly done a great deal of research to infuse his book with an authentic background (it takes place from just before Sherman's arrival to Savannah in December 1864 until just after the end of the war). LIBERTY STREET is basically a complex love story about a family of three women in one household. Two are war widows, the mother and older daughter; the third, a younger daughter, is a blossoming teen. The older daughter, Abigale, is 24, and most of the novel is told from her point of view. In their own way, each of these women seeks a male relationship, but it's not so easy when all the eligible white southern men are dead, wounded, or off fighting the war. Expect the unconventional to happen, which for some readers may seem highly implausible. Can a white southern woman really take up with a free black male? Or a Yankee officer? At first, I thought, 'no way', but the story deals head on with our notions of civilian during war time. There is far more to the story, of course, including subplots about Abigale's renegade brother, Johnny, and her domestic slave, Polly, who is freed upon Sherman's arrival. We also see how Sherman's "40 acres and a mule" order evolved, and its impact on the newly-freed slaves. By book's end, if you have any interest in historical fiction, you should feel both satisfied and enlightened. It's a story well told, and deserving of five stars."
AWARDS: LIBERTY STREET won 2nd place in the 2018 Florida Writers Association Royal Palm Literary Awards, category Published Historical Fiction.
Other Savannah/Civil War links from Lakeside Press:
Civil War Savannah: 1861-1862 |
Civil War Savannah: 1863-1865 |
Sherman's Mistress in Savannah: A Novel (Click on cover for link to Amazon Kindle) |
Out of Time: An alternative outcome to the Civil War (Click on cover for link to Amazon Kindle) |
Sherman's Memoirs: Savannah -- A Play in 2 Acts |
Civil War Fiction |
Sex in the Civil War |
Summary of all lp.com Civil War web sites |
Return to Lakeside Press
E-mail comments to Lawrence Martin
E-mail comments to Lawrence Martin