Stonewall's Gold: A Novel Of The Civil War

stonewall's Gold Is An Amazing Debut Novel - Literate, Exciting, Poignant, And Engrossing. Robert Mrazek Has Written A Rip-snorting Civil War Story, Combined With Romance, Adventure, And Heroism. Right Up There With Cold Mountain. After About A Dozen Pages, You Forget This Is Fiction And Find Yourself Totally Immersed In The War-torn Terrain Of Virginia In The Winter Of 1864.

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read This Book For The Sheer Pleasure Of The Storytelling. A Simple Tale, Almost Magically Rendered...it Settles On You With The Warmth You Once Felt From A Favorite Bedtime Story.

Author : Robert J. Mrazek

Publisher : St. Martin's Griffin

Published Year : 2000

Edition : 1

Format : Paperback, 223 pages

Dimensions : 5.53 (w) x 8.25 (h) x 0.67 (d)

ISBN : 0312254229

ISBN13 : 9780312254223

Overview :

Winner of the Civil War Society's Seal of Approval Winner of the Michael Shaara Award for Civil War Fiction

Stonewall's Gold is an adventure story for readers of all ages in the classic tradition of Treasure Island and The Red Badge of Courage. Combining a fascinating and gripping narrative with a portrait of life in the Civil War-era South, it is also the moving story of a boy on the edge of manhood, taking on difficult challenges that force him to confront the world for the first time.

The year of 1864 is a difficult time to be living in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia. The Civil War is drawing to a close and, under the orders of General Sheridan, Union troops have laid waste to the countryside. Against this bleak backdrop, Jamie Lockhart’s mother takes on a boarder to help her eke out a living until her husband returns from the war.

Soon, someone begins desecrating local soldier's graves, and Jamie, an intrepid fifteen-year-old, discovers that their boarder is the culprit. Confronted, the boarder assaults Jamie's mother; defending her, Jamie kills him. In his personal effects Jamie discovers the item he was looking for in the graveyard, a cryptic map to Stonewall's gold. Thus begins Jamie's quest.

Along the way, Jamie is faced with the best and the worst in human nature, and meets a young girl and falls in love for the first time. He becomes privy to the hidden politics behind the war when he stumbles upon escaped slaves on the Underground Railroad, and he is also forced to confront the ugly realities of war and the absurdity of the lost cause in the final days of the conflict.

A ripping adventure yarn, a moving coming-of-age tale, and a fascinating portrait of the difficulty of life in the Appalachians at the end of the Civil War, Stonewall's Gold is a compelling novel that is certain to appeal to teacher and student alike.