Helpful Score: 3
This is a charming story about a young woman who falls in love twice during the Revolutionary War. Language at the beginning is simplistic but once the reader gets into the swing of it, the novel flows well. And, the heroine seems to mature as the war goes on.
Bristow does an outstanding job of revealing what it must have been like for southerners to live through war and occupation. The tragedy, the fear and the loss of all one knows and loves is so dramatically pictured that the reader feels like he/she is on the streets of Charleston with the characters of the novel. How people react to occupation, patriots and invasion is fascinating and the historical details emphasize the reality of war. I rate this one at 3.5 stars.
Bristow does an outstanding job of revealing what it must have been like for southerners to live through war and occupation. The tragedy, the fear and the loss of all one knows and loves is so dramatically pictured that the reader feels like he/she is on the streets of Charleston with the characters of the novel. How people react to occupation, patriots and invasion is fascinating and the historical details emphasize the reality of war. I rate this one at 3.5 stars.
Helpful Score: 3
Excellent Historical fiction set during the American Revolution. Very interesting history of Charlestown, SC. I liked the way Ms. Bristow wove peoles life story story in the history of war. We got to see Tory, Redcoats and Rebels. Always exciting on what would happen next.
There's not a whole lot of (American) Revolutionary War historical fiction (unlike the Civil War or WWII) so I readily picked this up to read. I enjoyed it but it's not as exciting as the description says it is. Her spying mostly consists of passing along things she happens to hear or see while working as a seamstress. If you like sweet romance and historical fiction this book is definitely for you. If you want more action/thriller oriented HF, it may not be. It's still a nice glimpse into life during the Revolutionary War, specifically Charleston.
Helpful Score: 1
This is a very powerful book about the Revolutionary War. The history was fascinating and thought-provoking. Reading about the atrocities (that took place during the war) was often very hard to do.
If you think about the Iraq War; we watched it on our TV's but were not very affected. During the late 1700's, everyone was touched by the conflict between the British and the fledgling country called America.
Before reading this, I thought there was little fighting south of Virginia during the Revolutionary War. It was staggering to see how citizens suffered and were nearly starved.
The heroine, Celia Garth, was a 20 year-old seamstress and orphan. Her family inheritance was frittered away by the family who took her in when Celia's parents died. Being a practical person, Celia realized that she did not want to be a poor relation' living through the largesse of a relative; she was apprenticed at a women's clothing store. After her year of training, she wanted to stay on as a seamstress at the dressmaker's shop.
However, when an opportunity presented itself, Celia jumped at the chance to be the dressmaker for an older, wealthy woman. At first, the war didn't seem to impact the citizens; they went about their regular business. Once the British captured Charleston and its port, life became harder for the Americans.
This book presents the adversities of life during a war in a very-readable style. Although the start was a bit slow, there were more than 100 pages that were absolutely nerve-wracking. Obviously, lives on the plantation vs. life in town were very different; the author makes a point of showing both aspects of life in America during the late 1700's.
This is my first time to read this story; it is a historical novel at its finest. This is one of those books that I will not forget soon. 4.5 stars
If you think about the Iraq War; we watched it on our TV's but were not very affected. During the late 1700's, everyone was touched by the conflict between the British and the fledgling country called America.
Before reading this, I thought there was little fighting south of Virginia during the Revolutionary War. It was staggering to see how citizens suffered and were nearly starved.
The heroine, Celia Garth, was a 20 year-old seamstress and orphan. Her family inheritance was frittered away by the family who took her in when Celia's parents died. Being a practical person, Celia realized that she did not want to be a poor relation' living through the largesse of a relative; she was apprenticed at a women's clothing store. After her year of training, she wanted to stay on as a seamstress at the dressmaker's shop.
However, when an opportunity presented itself, Celia jumped at the chance to be the dressmaker for an older, wealthy woman. At first, the war didn't seem to impact the citizens; they went about their regular business. Once the British captured Charleston and its port, life became harder for the Americans.
This book presents the adversities of life during a war in a very-readable style. Although the start was a bit slow, there were more than 100 pages that were absolutely nerve-wracking. Obviously, lives on the plantation vs. life in town were very different; the author makes a point of showing both aspects of life in America during the late 1700's.
This is my first time to read this story; it is a historical novel at its finest. This is one of those books that I will not forget soon. 4.5 stars
Even better than I thought it would be. NOT a bodice ripper. A well written historical story of the end of the revolutionary war..revealing atrocities I was not aware of, by the English. Worse than the atrocities by the invading forces of either side of the civil war. A great read by a great story teller! The characters are well fleshed out..only wish it were longer so more of the characters could be even more fleshed out!! A worthy read!
