Regrettably for lovers of historical romance, this was
McBain’s last novel. I have read, reviewed and loved all of them (see list
below). McBain was a part of the seminal group of authors who ushered in the
modern historical romance in the 70s and she stayed for the booming 80s to give
us more wonderful, well-written, and deeply emotional sagas. As if she knew
this would be her last, she took her time with it, slowly developing the
tapestry of the two Southern families whose lives were intertwined before,
during and after the terrible conflict known as the Civil War.
Leigh Alexandra Travers, of Travers
Hill in Virginia loved her home, her family and her horses for which the
Travers family was famous. Neil Braedon was from the branch of the Virginia Braedons
that went west to the Territories. He was captured by Comanches as a child to
become the warrior “Sun Dagger,” then later rescued and sent east to school,
graduating from Yale. One day, seeing Leigh in the woods, he mistakes her for a
lady’s maid and steals a kiss—her first. Both were forever changed by the
encounter. Neil wanted Leigh as no woman before and Leigh was no longer content
with her handsome, wealthy gentleman fiancé, though she would wed him to save
her family from financial ruin. Neither Leigh nor Neil spoke of the deep
feelings they had for each other.
Then the war intervened and changed
everything.
 |
| Original cover |
McBain meticulously presents the
devastation the Civil War brought to the two families as Leigh and Neil are
separated by years (and more). Her family fights for the South and Neil becomes
the Yankee raider known as “Captain Dagger.” The descriptions are vivid and
rich, the dialog amazing and the story satisfying. As a sample, thinking about
Leigh, Neil reflected,
“She was like the willow on the
riverbank. She bent to the winds that swept across Travers Hill. She had
adapted gracefully to the changes that had come so tragically into her life.
She hadn’t broken trying to resist, to fight against a far greater force that
would have destroyed her. Nor had she been weakened by the struggle, she had
become stronger, finding a strength within that she might never have known
otherwise.”
This is a sweeping saga, and a love story that develops across
years. (It’s a long one, too, at 678 pages in my print edition). For fans of
McBain, as I am, it will not disappoint. It's a keeper!
McBain’s Novels:
Devil's
Desire (1975)
Tears Of
Gold (1979)
Wild Bells
To The Wild Sky (1983)
When The
Splendor Falls (1985)
Dominick Trilogy
Moonstruck
Madness (1977)
Sabrina and Lucien
Chance The
Winds Of Fortune (1980)
their daughter Rhea and Dante
Dark Before
The Rising Sun (1982) Rhea
and Dante (cont’d.)
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