Synopses & Reviews
In the tradition of
Cold Mountain and
The Killer Angels. Published in hardcover by a small press in Baltimore after being dug out of the slush pile by a discerning editor,
The Black Flower is one of the most moving Civil War novels since Michael Shaara's The Killer Angels.
As John Bell Hood's Army of Tennessee literally disappears in a hail of cannon and rifle fire from the Union Army's entrenchments, young rifleman Bushrod Carter vividly imparts the Confederate charge and its deadly consequences. After he is brought to a makeshift hospital, Carter comes under the care of a young southern woman named Anna, who, even in the midst of battle and defeat, manages to find ways to express her love. Written with reverent attention to historical accuracy, The Black Flower is a powerful reminder that the war that divided America will not vanish quietly into the pages of history.
Review
"I recommend it highly." Shelby Foote
Review
"Powerful and elegiac....Readers will be reminded of Stephen Crane, of Faulkner's Civil War stories, and of John Brown's Body." Michael Kenney, The Boston Globe
Review
"This is powerful medicine, concentrated emotion. I finished it in one long draught, thinking as I read of Crane, Hemingway, Mailer, and Faulkner...but realizing at the end that it was altogether original." Ernest B. Ferguson, author of Ashes of Glory and Chancellorville 1863
Synopsis
The Black Flower is the gripping story of a young Confederate rifleman from Mississippi named Bushrod Carter, who serves in General John Bell Hood's Army of Tennessee during the Civil War battle that takes place in Franklin, Tennessee, in November 1864. Written with reverent attention to historical accuracy, the book vividly documents the fear, suffering, and intense friendships that are all present on the eve of the battle and during its aftermath. When Bushrod is wounded in the Confederate charge, he is taken to a makeshift hospital where he comes under the care of Anna, who has already lost two potential romances to battle. Bushrod and Anna's poignant attempt to forge a bond of common humanity in the midst of the pathos and horror of battle serves as a powerful reminder that the war that divided America will not vanish quietly into the page of history.
About the Author
Howard Bahr was born in Meridian, Mississippi. From 1982 to 1993 he was curator of Rowan Oak, the William Faulkner homestead and museum in Oxford, Mississippi. Since 1993 he has taught English at Motlow State Community College in Tullahoma, Tennessee. His new novel is
The Year of the Jublio (Henry Holt).