Top Favorite U.S. CIVIL WAR Novels
Below is a current list of my top favorite novels set during the U.S. Civil War:
TOP FAVORITE U.S. CIVIL WAR NOVELS
1. "Love and War" (1984) by John Jakes - This is the second of a trilogy about two wealthy American families - the Hazards of Pennsylvania and the Mains of South Carolina - during the mid-19th century. This superb novel is about the two families' experiences during the U.S. Civil War.
2. "The Beguiled" (1966) by Thomas Cullinan - A wounded Union soldier ends up in the care of the occupants of an all girls' school in Virginia, during the Civil War; and ends up having an emotional impact on both students and teachers.
3. "The Killer Angels" (1974) by Michael Shaara - This historical novel about the Gettysburg Campaign during the summer of 1863 won the Pulitzer Prize For Fiction in 1975.
4. "The Titans" (1976) by John Jakes - This fifth novel in Jakes' "Kent Family Chronicles" told the story of various members of the Kent family and their experiences during the first few months of the U.S. Civil War.
5. "Lincoln: A Novel" (1984) by Gore Vidal - Part of Vidal's "Narratives of Empire" series, this novel told the story of President Abraham Lincoln's presidency via the eyes of various historical figures.
6. "Freedom" (1987) by William Safire - This novel focused on the first two years of the U.S. Civil War via the eyes of historical figures as they grapple with the dilemmas of political morality raised by secession and war.
7. "Cold Mountain" (1997) by Charles Frazier - The author won the U.S. National Book Award for Fiction for this tale about a Confederate Army deserter during the last year of the Civil War who walks for months to return to the love of his life in North Carolina.
8. "Unto This Hour" (1984) by Tom Wicker - This novel recounted five long during the Second Battle of Bull Run campaign via several characters.
9. "The Last Full Measure" (2000) by Jeff Shaara - The author wrote this sequel to his father's novel, "The Killer Angels", about the last two years of the Civil War.
10. "Grant's War" (1992) by Ted Jones - This novel proved to be an interesting take on the "mock documentary" in which an early 20th historian interviews several Civil War veterans on how General Ulysses Grant conducted the war.