August 22, 1863, was a day in hell for Jessica Radford as it was for all of the survivors in Lawrence, Kansas. It was the day after William Quantrill and his marauders burned down the town and killed around 200 unarmed men and boys. Jessica has great convictions about her anti-slavery beliefs and isn't about to surrender them because of these killers. Instead, she leaves Lawrence and travels with friends to the nation's capitol to make a difference.
Jessica, along with Otto and Penelope Heller, go to Washington, D.C., where Jessica is introduced to Walt Whitman and is more determined than ever to write her novel. She's still so headstrong and independent that she struggles with her feelings for Matt Lightfoot, the Methodist preacher who wishes to marry her. While he's off fighting for the Union, Matt runs into Mary Delaney, who's working as a nurse and still has very strong feelings for him. Will Matt stay true to Jessica, or will he finally discover and pursue another love interest?
Roger and Sara Toby are caught up in the war as Roger fights for the Confederacy, leaving Sara to struggle on her own. As a stage actress, Sara draws on her talents and delivers the best performance of her life in order to live. Will their marriage survive her actions, and will Roger make it home from the war?
ALL PARTS TOGETHER by Tom Mach is the second installment in the Jessica Radford trilogy. This book is filled with historically accurate details and many wonderful characters from the first book, SISSY. I anxiously await the conclusion to this series.
The descriptions of the Civil War battles of Chickamauga,
Chattanooga, and Franklin from both a Union and a
Confederate perspective are only one of many delights
readers will find in All Parts Together. Writers have
praised both its historical accuracy as well as its
emotional intensity.
The title of this unusual historical novel comes from poet
Walt Whitman, who wrote, "Sure as Life holds all parts
together, Death holds all parts together." This is the
second book of Tom Machβs exciting trilogy on the life of a
19th-century abolitionist named Jessica Radford. In All
Parts Together, Jessica, in 1863, survives the infamous
Quantrill raid of Lawrence, Kansas, where almost 200
unarmed civilians were killed, and she eventually goes to
Washington, D.C. A headstrong, independent young woman
writer, she faces obstacles in her path as she seeks to
influence Congress to enact emancipation of slaves in all
the states. A Methodist minister named Matt Lightfoot, a
man she has known for some time, proposes marriage to her.
Will Jessica accept it? And what secret does she carry with
her that she is unwilling to share with anyone?
Lincolnβs personality, as well as Boothβs tormented mind,
are precisely etched in this well-researched novel. After
Jessica witnesses the drama of Lincolnβs death in Fordβs
Theater, her world crashesβ¦but hope of a new beginning
emerges when she opens the door to an unexpected visitor.
Maps and a list of the fictional characters in this book
are included, as is a summary of the first book of Mach's
trilogy: Sissy! Whether or not you enjoy Civil War novels,
you will like this one because it will not only provide an
accurate and gripping experience of our nation's history,
but bring you into the emotional drama of conflict and
compassion attempting to coexist.
No excerpt available.
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