House Devided
by Ben Ames Williams
Book Description (amazon.com)
Publication Date: May 1, 2006
First published in 1947, this bestselling historical novel is cherished and remembered as one of the finest retellings of the Civil War saga—America's own War and Peace. In the first hard pinch of the Civil War, five siblings of an established Confederate Virginia family learn that their father is the grandfather of Abraham Lincoln. The family's story, and the story of their descendants, is presented in this tale that includes both soldiers and civilians—complete with their boasting, ambition, and arrogance, but also their patience, valor, and shrewdness. The grandnephew of General James Longstreet, the author brings to life one of the most extraordinary periods in history, and details war as it really is—a disease from which, win or lose, no nation ever completely recovers.
I read this book back in the early 70s and decided to re-read it this winter (along with the sequel "The Unconquered"
. Given all that has occurred since the Reagan Era and the times we live in today I find that I am taking a very different look at the book as I am reading it now. Some of the attitudes sound like like it was written in current times. For example, the belief by some in the south that only those men who were educated and owned assets should be allowed to vote and that everyone else had to right to be given the vote. Substitute southern plantation owners for members of the 1% and uber conservative Republicans and currentefforts to suppress the vote and it seems like we have not progressed very far.
I would definitely recommend this book. The core family is fictional but they are set in an era that is probably written with historical accuracy.
