Synopses & Reviews
She hid from her past to find a future—and landed on enemy soil.
When Caitlin McKae woke up in Atlanta, the Georgian doctor believed Caitlin’s only secret was that she had been fighting for the South disguised as a man. In order to avoid arrest or worse, Caitlin hides her true identity as a Northerner and makes a new life for herself in Atlanta as a governess for the daughter of Noah Becker—on the brink of his enlistment with the Rebel army. Though starvation ruled and Sherman raged, she would not run again.
Yankee in Atlanta is a work of fiction inspired by first-person accounts written by those living in the heart of the Confederacy and by the soldiers who sought to defend it. This is the third book in the series Heroines Behind the Lines: Civil War, offering an inside look at women’s contributions during times of war. For more information about the series, visit: heroinesbehindthelines.com.
Review
“Witness ordinary people doing extraordinary things through the anguish and hardship of the Civil War. Jocelyn Green develops the conflict, pulling on our emotions and gripping our minds with the effects war has on soldiers and those left behind. This haunting, heart-thumping drama, and its message of faith, hope and love, will impact you forever.” ~Nora St. Laurent, CEO of The Book Club Network (TBCN) and Book Fun Magazine
“Green has written a rare Civil War novel that hits no false historical notes. In a cruel and violent time that divided loyalties, families and hearts, Green's heroines' enduring courage, compassion and mercy show the wellspring from which a renewed nation could emerge from the fires of war.” ~Marc Wortman, PhD, author, The Bonfire: The Siege and Burning of Atlanta
“Powerful historical fiction at its stunning best. Yankee in Atlanta crests the heights of excellence with a heroic tale of love and war so brutally honest and achingly beautiful, it will rent your heart and heal your soul. “ ~Julie Lessman, award-winning author of The Daughters of Boston and Heart of San Francisco series
“Rarely have I read a novel that so envelops you into the excitement and intrigue of 1864 Atlanta. With passion, courage and accuracy, Yankee in Atlanta hits the mark. A must-read for all historians and romantics alike!"e; ~Amy Reed, Curator of Exhibits and Educational Programming, Marietta Museum of History, Marietta, Georgia
"e;Once again, Jocelyn Green weaves together the intensity of war with the impact on human lives. In Yankee in Atlanta, we see two women on opposite sides of the battle lines, each experiencing the deprivations of wartime, each reeling from historical events, and each struggling personally. This is Civil War fiction at its best.” ~ Sarah Sundin, award-winning author of On Distant Shores
“Richly researched and characterized, multi-faceted and emotional, Yankee in Atlanta is an outstanding period piece. If you want to experience the depth and breadth of the Civil War, Jocelyn’s Green’s latest novel should not be missed!” ~Laura Frantz, Christy Award finalist and author of Love’s Reckoning
“Well-researched, Green’s novel incorporates women’s lives on the home front, and how military decisions impact families, forcing women and men to make heartbreaking decisions. The historical record comes alive with compelling and believable characters and a narrative that reveals real-life dramas in Civil War Georgia.” ~Christine Jacobson Carter, Ph.D., Lecturer at Georgia State University and author of The Diary of Dolly Lunt Burge, 1848-1879 and Southern Single Blessedness: Unmarried Women in the Urban South, 1800-1865
“Yankee in Atlanta is insightful. Green's characters are as complicated as the various battles that divide them, however, they are guided by the hope that the very conflict that separates them will someday lead to their happy reunion.” ~Trevor Beemon, Atlanta History Center, Atlanta, Georgia
"e;Jocelyn Green’s stories portray unconventional experiences rarely addressed in modern historical fiction: Northern sympathizers caught behind Confederate lines. The characters spring to life and remain entwined in the readers’ heart long after finishing the book. Yankee in Atlanta is engrossing, wrenching, and uplifting, and I recommend it highly."e; ~J. M. Hochstetler, author of the American Patriot Series and Northkill Amish Series
“Captivating from the beginning. Yankee in Atlanta contains rich detail, a cast of characters that steal your heart (and sleep), and a smooth-flowing story that readers have come to love in Jocelyn Green's novels. A relevant message from a long-ago era breathes life into barren places within the spirit. It powerfully displays the resounding message that these things are timeless: love and war, personal crisis, and the universal craving for hope. An exceptional novel.” ~Mary Nichelson, lead journalist for TWJ Magazine
Review
"e;'God bless the women and the hardships they endured,' writes author Jocelyn Green. While this powerful novel intermittently dismounts upon the Civil War battlefields, this story is really about the courageous heroines behind the lines and the impact this war bore on them. Jocelyn proficiently and expressively pens an emotive journey into the Civil War era that encompasses families torn apart, the bombardment of shells and musket-fire; terrifying riots; gnawing hunger; reckless disease and injury; prejudices; and the taxing scarcity of sleep and strength. But mostly it is an entrancing story of hope and love amidst destruction, and the survival and victory of the battle-worn yet courageous heart and spirit.
This is a Civil War story with enormous heart, effortlessly capturing your senses and absorbing you into the lives of the strong, yet vulnerable characters that Jocelyn has skilfully created. Historical figures that played a vital role in the war also appear in this exceptionally researched novel. Likewise, many notable Civil War events are seamlessly interwoven into ‘Yankee in Atlanta’ - all of it making this novel, an overall feast of stirring history featuring two achingly beautiful love stories."e; ~Noela Nancarrow, http://cfpagels.blogspot.com/, June 17, 2014
Excellent ending to the trilogy! Jocelyn Green has done a wonderful job of portraying the Civil War through the eyes of the women who were adversely affected.
Yankee in Atlanta is the story of Caitlin McKae from New York. An Irish immigrant, she flees her step-father and follows her brother off to war. Found wounded on a battlefield, she is mistaken for a Confederate and taken to an Atlanta hospital. She accepts the responsibility for raising a young girl, the daughter of German immigrant Noah Becker, who enlists to fight for the Confederacy.
Trapped in a hostile land, charged with the care of a daughter not her own, living under the suspicion of being a spy due to her accent, Caitlin has to find a way to survive not only her enemy, but her own army's invasion.
Gritty. Realistic. Powerful. Emotional. These books are well worth your time.-Pegg Thomas, http://thesheepishscribe.blogspot.com/2014/07/yankee-in-atlanta.html, July 7, 2014
Synopsis
When soldier Caitlin McKae woke up in Atlanta after being wounded in battle, the Georgian doctor who treated her believed Caitlin's only secret was that she had been fighting for the Confederacy disguised as a man. In order to avoid arrest or worse, Caitlin hides her true identity and makes a new life for herself in Atlanta.
Trained as a teacher, she accepts a job as a governess to the daughter of Noah Becker, a German immigrant lawyer, who is about to enlist with the Rebel army. Then in the spring of 1864, Sherman’s troops edge closer to Atlanta. Caitlin tries to escape north with the girl, but is arrested on charges of being a spy. Will honor dictate that Caitlin follow the rules, or love demand that she break them?
For more information on this series, visit www.HeroinesBehindtheLines.com.
About the Author
JOCELYN GREEN is an award-winning author, freelance writer and editor. A former military wife, she authored, along with contributing writers, Faith Deployed: Daily Encouragement for Military Wives (Moody 2008) and Faith Deployed . . . Again: More Daily Encouragement for Military Wives (Moody 2011). Jocelyn is also co-author for Battlefields and Blessings: Stories of Faith and Courage from the War in Iraq and Afghanistan (AMG Publishers 2009), which won the Gold Medal from Military Writers Society of America in 2010. She maintains her own award-winning Web site for military wives at www.faithdeployed.com. She holds a B.A. in English from Taylor University, and is an active member of the Evangelical Press Association, the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association and the Christian Authors Network. She and her husband have two children and reside in Cedar Falls, Iowa.