Enemy Women by Paulette Jiles
Near the end of the Civil War in divided Missouri, the main character's father is arrested by the Missouri Militia, who then steal their possessions and try to burn their house down, sending our heroine, Adair, and her two sisters on the road to St. Louis to try to find their dad. While on the road, Adair is falsely accused of spying for the Confederacy and cutting telegraph wires, is arrested by the Union Army, and sent to a women's prison. She's drawn to the commanding officer, Major Neumann, and he to her. He's being transferred out to a fighting unit, and he helps her to escape, promising to find her after the war. It's not a sappy love story, but a nice element to a story of a young woman's fight for survival and to make it home.
Adair is feisty without being annoying, the way Scarlett O'Hara could be, and I was intrigued by Major Neumann and wanted to hear more about him, although he was really a secondary character. And there is not an antebellum mansion to be found in the entire novel! An excellent book.
5 stars out of 5.
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