The Widow of the South (ISBN 1594831092)

Compelling story, historically accurate:
This compelling story was hard to put down. Both Carrie and Zack were strong, well-developed characters, a bit quirky for their time, but highly believable. As a Civil War buff, I love reading ficton from that era. I found the book to be flawlessly accurate on the historic details surrounding the story. It was so nice to read about a Southern belle who wasn't a vain scatter-brained flirt, but rather a strong heroic woman.

The Widow of the South:
Whether one is a "Civil War Buff" or not, this is a must read and a page-turner. The central character, Carrie MacGavock, takes a long and arduous journey while never leaving home. She "travels" from being a well-protected and privileged plantation owner's wife, through being nearly crippled with grief over the loss of three children to death, to a power-house nurse for the wounded and dying, and finally to a no-holds-barred developer of a sanctuary for the dead and a life-long mourner for those interred upon her land. Robert Hicks has produced a work that not only deserves to be made into a movie, but he has written it in such a way that the opening and closing chapters set a perfect opening and closing scene sequence.

LOVED this book!:
I loved this book so much that I dragged my family down to Franklin, TN, just to visit the place. Yes, it's fiction, but it is a great story. Hicks does a fantastic job detailing the area, and it has really paid off for Carnton and for Franklin. Many of these more obscure Civil War sites are struggling to remain in existence, and the success of this book has really put Franklin on the map.

This is the very rare book.........:
....from which you need to read the Epilogue first. Otherwise, you may have trouble separating fact from fiction. And this is NOT the place for me to defend General John Bell Hood against Wiley Sword's lies; Mr. Hicks avoided that necessity. The Battle of Franklin of November 30, 1864 was quite real...9,000 Americans dead in about four hours; \oWhat would the press make of that now\c? Carnton Plantation is real....I bought my copy of this book there, I've seen the blood still soaked into the floors, and walked thru the cemetery. Sacred Ground. Carrie McGavock was real, as were her family, and her slave Mariah. Carrie really did wear black, and really did live out her days caring for the cemetery, though she was only an actual "widow" for her last few years, she really did carry the title of the book. Nathan Bedford Forrest was certainly real, but he only gets two small cameos, the second of which is fiction, and the first may be, too. The rest....... ...is a work of fiction. Zachariah Cashwell and Nathan Stiles are nobody in particular, and thus stand-ins for everybody. The romance between Carrie and Zachariah is certainly fabricated. The story of how the cemetery got to Carnton is "fiction" in the sense that it's condensed to make it flow easier, with made-up characters to move the action.... I don't read "romance novels", but the circumstances on this one were different. I shall mention another book sold at Carnton..."For Cause and For Country", by Eric Jacobson, who, like Mr. Hicks, works there. Don't buy it unless you're serious: for me it was a page turner \ostomach turner, too, in spots\c....for others it may be merely 500 pages of small print. But, it's the REAL story of General Hood's Tennessee Campaign of fall, 1864. Not a whitewash of our great and maligned General, but not Wiley Sword's tapestry of lies, either. Mr. Hicks calls THIS book the fiction it is....

A Memorable and Well-Written Historical Novel...:
Never would I have thought anyone could write this well about such a devastating battle. I had previously read of the battle at Franklin, but this novel adds the necessary context to many of the events that took place. A great deal of research and thought went into writing this well, and the author is to be highly commended for his work! I originally read this book upon checking it out at the library. However, I simply enjoyed reading it so much, it became necessary to purchase a copy for myself. There are so many new insights to be gained upon reading a book the second and third time. I felt this was one of those books. I will ALWAYS treasure this novel as it speaks to the very human and caring side of everyone's character...