Inspirations
J. P. Ronan
(Reviewer - Jay McDonald)
2001 BookSurge
ISBN: 1588983277

Two girls grow to womanhood in the turbulent 1860's just as Civil War breaks out.

Guest Reviewer Jay McDonald writes:

Cathy Joe Goodall (Joe) is an orphan being raised by her grandparents in rural Old Virginia. She is busy learning the ways of country life on a farm. Hunting & fishing are her recreations. Emmy Lou Ferris is Joe's best friend & first cousin. Emmy Lou lives in the nearby town of Deersville. She is also coming of age. Emmy Lou is busy learning the fashion & etiquette of the upper society with which her father must intermingle as the county engineer. Shopping & cooking are her happiness.

Inspirations follows the lives of Joe & Emmy Lou before the war begins & as it rages. The reader shares their emotional trials, hardships, & the family's wants in the Civil War.

Joe catches a thief on her grandparent's farm. A young migrant named Ty Kooter has taken to stealing food in order to provide for his little sister & mother. This is the man Joe decides to marry. Sheriff Gary Young conscripts Ty to serve in the local regiment presently being formed to join Lee's Army of Virginia. Joe enlists to remain at Private Ty's side.

Emmy Lou is invited to the formal coming of age banquet at the estate of Dale Freshwater, from one of the richest families in Virginia. All the elite of Virginia Society will be present at the ball. While attending, Emmy Lou meets the most desirable bachelor there, Beau John Reiter. Beau falls in love with Emmy Lou, who is overwhelmed! Beau will serve as an officer with Lee's command. Emmy will struggle to become his bride.

The harsh reality of life in the military during the Civil War is presented in the details of Joe's interactions with the other individuals in her platoon as they train in Confederate compounds across Northern Virginia, & as they fight in the major battles from Bull Run to Gettysburg.

The strife of changing civil life is seen & felt through Emmy Lou's eyes. The desperation of her family & neighbors is shared while all struggle to preserve home & tradition in the absence of father, brother, & husband in Confederate Virginia.

The most enjoyable part of Inspirations is the cast of country characters. I experienced & shared the personal relationships in the book as influenced by the American Civil War. The insight provided by the heroine from her service in the Confederate Army is unique. Priceless to me is reflection of the book into the armed conflict witnessed today

More from J. P. Ronan:
Druid of Locherbith
Mystery in Meezgole
(01/16/05)

Guest Reviewer - Jay McDonald
2005©Jay McDonald