March: Pulitzer Prize Winner (A Novel) (Charles Paris Mysteries)

by Geraldine Brooks

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize--a powerful love story set against the backdrop of the Civil War, from the author of The Secret Chord.

From Louisa May Alcott's beloved classic Little Women, Geraldine Brooks has animated the character of the absent father, March, and crafted a story "filled with the ache of love and marriage and with the power of war upon the mind and heart of one unforgettable man" (Sue Monk Kidd). With "pitch-perfect writing" (USA Today), Brooks follows March as he leaves behind his family to aid the Union cause in the Civil War. His experiences will utterly change his marriage and challenge his most ardently held beliefs. A lushly written, wholly original tale steeped in the details of another time, March secures Geraldine Brooks's place as a renowned author of historical fiction.

• ISBN10: 0143036661
• ISBN13: 9780143036661
• Publish Date: 31 January 2006 (first published 1 March 2005)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: The Penguin Press
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 320
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780143036661

Reviews

[Eve1972]

Being a huge fan of novels that take place during the US civil war and the novel Little Women I could not wait to dive into this one and I was not disappointed! March is a is really well-written and researched work of fiction based on real life people/events. I am always intrigued when an author takes a well know novel or character and builds a whole new story around them. The *only* thing I found off putting was how Marmee was portrayed, I found her rather unlikable and she came across as a spoiled brat 95% of the time. A thumb up for this one!!

[Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews]

March is the story of the absentee father from Louisa May Alcott's Little Women and at the ripe old age of 39 enlists for the Civil War becoming a Union chaplain and later is assigned to teach free slaves {an oxymoron I know} to read and write. Mr. March, takes center stage in this novel having Marmee and his little women play secondary characters.

March is split in two, half being memories of years gone by, remembering the courting of Marmee, the births of their children and the March's beliefs on slavery, even becoming conductors on the underground railroad. By putting their money where their mouth is, give a large sum of money to a fellow abolitionist to support the cause, but unfortunately the deal goes sour leading to the March's financial decline.

The second part brings us to Mr. March's hellish present while teaching those on a cotton plantation who are willing to read and write he is reminded of Grace, another educated slave that he had an intimate relationship with and the physical humiliation she received when taking the blame for a young slave girl who he was teaching to read and write as well. The tale climaxes at a raid from the Confederates, resulting in murder of black and white by beheading and gunshots and the recapture of freed slaves to be sold back into slavery. Meanwhile, March scrapes by with the grazing of a bullet and soon after returns home to his girls but is still, and forever haunted by the gruesome events he has witnessed.