Purchase
Simon & Schuster
April 2008
On Sale: April 1, 2008
368 pages ISBN: 1416550658 EAN: 9781416550655 Hardcover
Add to Wish List
Historical
It is April 17, 1861 -- the day that Virginia secedes
from the Union and the sixteenth birthday of John Alan Muro.
As the Commonwealth erupts in celebration, young Muro sees
his dream of attending medical school in Philadelphia
shattered by the sudden reality of war. Muro's father,
believing that the Disagreement will pass, sends his son
instead to Charlottesville. Jefferson's forty-year-old
University of Virginia has become a haven of rogues and
dilettantes, among them Muro's roommate, Braxton Baucom III,
a planter's son who attempts to strike a resemblance to
General "Stonewall" Jackson. Though the pair toasts
lightheartedly "To our studies!" with a local corn whiskey
known as "The Bumbler," the war effort soon exerts a
sobering influence. Medical students like Muro are pressed
into service at the Charlottesville General Hospital, where
the inexperienced Dr. Muro saves the life of a Northern
lieutenant, earning the scorn of his peers. As the war
progresses, Muro takes up yet another cause -- winning the
affections of the beguiling Miss Lorrie Wigfall. Here, too,
Muro faces a cunning adversary. Just as the fighting is
closing in, Muro is forced to make a choice that will shape
the rest of his life. In this story of love, loyalty, and
unimaginable sacrifice, a doctor struggles to balance the
passions of youth with the weight of responsibility.
Comments
No comments posted.
Registered users may leave comments.
Log in or register now!
|