Stonewall's Gold - Softcover

Mrazek, Robert J

3.61

284 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312974299 ISBN 13: 9780312974299

Publisher: ST MARTINS PRESS *, 1999

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It is the final winter of the war, and in the wake of an infamous order issued by General Ulysses S. Grant, Union armies have laid waste to the majestic Shenandoah Valley. As bitter weather sets in, the civilian population struggles in the face of hardship and deprivation in a land marked by violence and terror. It is then that a stranger arrives in the small village of Port Republic, once the site of one of Stonewall Jackson's greatest victories, but now a backwater to the final battles taking place around Richmond. When someone begins desecrating the graves of soldiers buried near Jackson's former headquarters, it is Jamie Lockhart who uncovers an incredible secret that could very well cost him his life.

Pursued by men who would kill to gain the information he possesses and befriended by a mysterious one-armed soldier and a beautiful young woman, Jamie embarks on a quest that will test the limit of his courage and endurance. As they travel through the war-torn valley, they must survive a titanic blizzard known as "Lincoln's last Christmas present" to the South.

This magnificent novel hauntingly and vividly brings to life one of the most dramatic periods of the Civil War, and the resilient people who lived through it. It is a splendid novel that will claim a cherished place in all Civil War collections.

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About the Author:

Robert J. Mrazek lives and writes in Washington, D.C., and Maine. A former member of Congress, he coauthored the law that saved the Manassas battlefield from being bulldozed into a giant shopping center.

Review:

“A superb piece of literature, rich in texture and of surpassing literary merit. This book is destined to become one of the great classics of Civil War literature.”—Robert K. Krick, author of Stonewall Jackson at Cedar Mountain and Lee's Colonel

“Tailor-made for young adults who enjoy historical adventures.”—Booklist

“A priceless novel . . . Mrazek joins a handful of writers who have mined the vast field of the Civil War to produce a must-read book . . . A great tale.”—The Washington Times

“More than a fast-paced adventure story; it is also a tale of the horrors of war, and of the last days of the Confederacy.”—School Library Journal

“Mrazek’s exceptional coming-of-age tale will equally delight young adult and adult readers . . . Echoing The Red Badge of Courage, Treasure Island, and Morte d’Arthur, this tenderly rendered first novel . . . irresistibly combines the classic motifs of Civil War, buried treasure, and romantic heroism . . . [The book] possesses a compelling narrative drive.”—Publishers Weekly

“A gripping, well-researched, and vivid debut.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Stonewall’s Gold hits paydirt . . . A novel of suspense and intrigue woven into the fabric of Civil War history.”—Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“A simple tale almost magically rendered . . . On the surface it is a whopping good adventure yarn, but Mrazek’s attention to detail and research of the era turn the story into a beguiling sketch of the lives of average Americans during our nation’s saddest period.”—The Denver Post

“A remarkable book that is a welcome addition to the huge, ever-growing body of Civil War literature . . . The twists and turns in the plot are enough to keep you turning the pages, but it’s the author’s ability to recreate the haunting sights and sounds of war-torn Virginia in the midst of the Confederacy’s death throes that lifts this book to the level of literature. Indeed, it evokes the sense of the young man rising to a new level of maturity through a trial by fire, like Stephen Crane’s classic Civil War novel The Red Badge of Courage.”—The Hill

"An amazing debut novel—literate, exciting, poignant, and engrossing. Right up there with Cold Mountain."—Nelson DeMille, author of Plum Island

"A rattling good adventure story that also has important things to say about the hard, vicious nature of the Civil War during its final months in the Shenandoah Valley."—James M. McPherson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom

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