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Where I got the book: review copy provided by the publisher. My feature article on the Savannah Quartet appears on the Historical Novel Society website.

This third installment in the Savannah Quartet has the most fragmented plot structure, but Price weaves her various plot lines together skillfully enough that if you’ve read the first two books, you’re not going to worry too much about the lack of a central plot. In this novel and the next one, Stranger in Savannah, Price moves from exploring the history of Georgia in general to the specific foreshadowing of the Civil War. And Price loves foreshadowing. Thanks to the real-life W.H. Stiles and his ties to the fictional Browning family, Price is able to get into the political nitty-gritty of States’ Rights in a pretty educational way, and in fact the last two books in the Quartet are valuable to readers of American historical fiction in that they outline the feelings in the South (on both sides) as the country inches closer to war.

Price shows a family/close network of family friends dividing over the issues of states’ rights and slavery. Mark and Caroline Browning are the most compelling example, since Mark, a Northerner by birth and breeding brought up by an abolitionist, is vehemently anti-slavery while Caroline inherited slaves and finds it quite normal to own them. For the sake of marital harmony they manage to avoid the issue, which may seem far-fetched unless you’ve been married for a long time (as I have) to someone who has different views of the world (yep)—you either allow your differences to break the marriage bond, or learn to live with them because your marriage is more important than the issues. Given Mark’s strong feelings about family, I can understand his willingness to stick his head in the sand, even while occasionally wanting to smack both him and Caroline.

And I still want to smack Natalie, who remains self-centered and childish despite personal tragedy. It’s funny how people in a book can annoy you but you’ll keep reading their story anyway.

The Jonathan and Mary plot line seems a little contrived to me, even while it fits in with that general theme of love overcoming differences. I’ve never really been able to get my head around Mary. ( )

The four Eugenia Price novels in my Library made my adventure in Savannah, Georgia bring Southern living during the 1800's to life for me. Like all of the books I could not live without, I passed them along for they were reads too great to sit on a shelf. I've always called them "The Savannah Series" and recommend them to all who love beautiful writing and historical fiction. ( )

The year 1842 begins a passionate era in America's history and in the lives of these prominent Georgia families. It is a restless and turbulent time when willful Natalie Browning Latimer, suffers a shattering loss...a time when W. H. Stiles is elected to Congress, advancing a career that soon takes his family far from their home and into the turmoil of Western Europe...when young Jonathan Browning falls deeply in love with the one woman who will never be welcomed into Savannah society...and a time when political tensions swell, and the threat of civil war begins to loom over the hearts and minds of all Americans.