Bill's Book Barn

The Loft

July 28, 1998:

Two recent books, both very well researched novels, provide an excellect view into the area and time-period in our county often called "Bleeding Kansas" in the years before the Civil War. Actually, of course, the war was already underway as Kansas was being settled by Northern abolitionists and Southern sympathizing Missourians.

The two novels are "Southwind" by Kansas author, Don Coldsmith, and the newest Jane Smiley novel, "The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton - A Novel." "Southwind," of course, is a sequel (actually the second part of a two novel set) to Don Coldsmith's 1997 novel "Tallgrass" which set the stage nicely for "Southwind." "Southwind" opens in 1846, at Council Grove, on the Santa Fe Trail, following the lives of families who stay to make their living in Kansas rather than moving on west, along the Santa Trail, Oregon Trail or Smokey Hill trail to Denver. Later, other families and individuals provide different viewpoints of the area and the people prior to, during and for ten years after the Civil War, ending with the Centennial celebration of the nation in 1876. This novel, to me is very even-handed, looking carefully at each side of the conflicts from multiple points of view while telling a series of interesting stories, most based on actual events of the time.

"Lidie Newton" is written as a diary of a young woman who marries an abolitionist in Illinois enroute from Massachusetts to settling in Kansas to boost the Northern cause. It provides an "insiders" viewpoint that is much more detailed in the north-south struggle, from a northern perspective. Many of same historical events are seen from a variety of perspectives in the two novels, providing a unique opportunity better understand them in a realatively easy reading format. Many readers will want to consider reading additional sources about details of some of these events, following the personal involvement felt in reading these two novels.

I strongly recommend both novels.

Bill

>

enter keywords...

Page last updated 31 July 1998.
Address comments to William L. Smith, Web Page Manager for Bill's Book Barn.