Daughter of the Regiment~ Book Review

Daughter of the Regiment by Stephanie Grace Whitson

This is a delightful book! Stephanie has successfully woven historical fact with the fictitious Malone family, an Irish immigrants living on a small farm in Little Dixie, Missouri, in 1861, approximately one month after the Civil War had started.   Little Dixie is a historic 13- to 17-county region of mid-to-upper-mid Missouri along the Missouri River, settled at first primarily by migrants from the hemp and tobacco districts of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee.    During the war, Missouri was claimed by both the Union and the Confederacy, had two competing state governments, and sent representatives to both the United States Congress and the Confederate Congress.(from Wikipedia)

The other main, or co-star character in the book is Libbie, a true Southern belle, wealthy, and living with her abusive brother, Walker, on their plantation.  Stephanie’s descriptions of Libbie, her way of talking, her mannerisms, are all accurate reflections of how women were in the South. Part of the war ends up taking place on their plantation, Wildwood Grove.

Feelings and characters of the plantation slaves have an honest light shown on them.  I liked the way the author presented their points of views.

The Civil War scenes are intense.  Her descriptions of the fights on the  battlefields are vivid.   She gives just enough details of the war to keep interest going, yet she doesn’t get overly graphic.  Realistic, but not without hope and courageous acts by others.

If you like Christian historical fiction, and the Civil War, this is a must-read!

Romans 10:9-13;  John 3:16-21