Best Civil War Historical Fiction (2024 Updated)

This is an extremely well thought out treatment of a major question – not only for Civil War buffs – what might have happened if Lee had not decided on that disastrous charge at Gettysburg? After Lee suffered tremendous losses at Malvern Hill a year before, one can’t help but feel frustrated that he tried the same thing again at Gettysburg – and with the same results.

The authors are not writing a wishful thinking glorification of the Southern cause. They are instead analyzing a distinct possibility and what might follow as a result. Their sympathies lie neither with the North nor the South, but with the brave and often fearful men who suffered through this terrible time.

This is the first of a three-volume set and I won’t spoil the fun by telling you what ultimately happens. But their descriptions of the inner lives of these soldiers and of the tactical and strategic concerns involved is absolutely the best I have ever read – and I’ve read a heck of a lot!!! You don’t have to be an expert in the field to follow easily, but it does add an extra portion of fun if you are.

An excellent book for pleasure reading and just as much as a text in a history course. First rate!!!.

An absolutly fantastic read for any civil war buff who ofeten wonders WHAT IF? Well written spellbinding, Couldn’t put it down. The detail of the suffering and carnage were a bit over the top. Newt’s ability to make the story feel like reading history instead of fiction is remarkable, as well as how he makes the anguish, and compassion of the military leades seem so real.

As usual, Gingrich, Hanser and Forstchen created living words that came off the page like a hot little minni-ball! Everything flowed right along and the pace just kept on coming. More than adequate descriptions, details that added to the scenes, plots, and direction of the book.

I’m really glad to have all three in the series. But then, I usually buy what Gingrich sells. I’d vote for him for President given the chance.

One of the best marvel comic runs I have ever read, second time I’ve bought the book but still so so worth it!. If you loved the civil war movie, why not read the original source material 😉

The old registration story. The overall theme here is one mined from several of the best comic works of the past, including :- The Dark Knight Returns Watchmen Squadron Supreme Kingdom Come Powers etc.

After a ludicrous superhero show decides that they can take on Captain Marvel level villains for ratings points ends up in little pieces of school children being scattered all over a block or two, the government bows to pressure to institute a registration act for superhumans, where they all work for the government.

That sounds good in theory, but the super geniuses involved, Stark and Richards have plans beyond that, although they don’t go as far as the mind control techniques used in Squadron Supreme or kingdom come.

Super-gulags, clones, cyborgs, created armies, hit squads, etc. , though, sure, no problem. The interesting part is that it hinges on Captain America, a patriotic symbol for Americans, of course, and actually used in the past as a propaganda too.

Here, though, he makes the decision to lead the left wing rebel group after the new Shield director gives him too much grief. Part of what lets it done (apart from this having been done better in the past), is the lack of the X-Men – they are kept to their own little mutant reservation, apart from the odd conversation along the lines of ‘hah, not so much fun when you are saving the world and the government is out to get you, is it’? This leaves the most interesting and popular team out in the cold, as Marvel tries to pump up the status of the Avengers, as per New Avengers etc.

, some more. It is quite pretty though, artwise. Things spiral badly out of control, of course, splitting teams, spying, and even families, in the case of the FF. You can see these in a classic panel or two where Captain America is shown to be crazier than the Punisher, of all people, given what he has gone through.

The Civil War picks up where The Road to Civil War left off and things get messy. If you like Iron Man at the end you won’t Stark reaches a new low. You can understand why he did what he did but it doesn’t excuse his means of doing them.

The whole Marvel universe is flipped on edge lines are drawn and fiercely defended. Steven Rogers Tony Stark and their followers wage an all out battle to a bloody violent finish. Even the Marvel villains are enlisted to hunt down those against the Mutant Registration Act.

This universe shattering event shouldn’t be miss by any fan!.

If you have an interest in the US Civil War then this book will be great reading for you. It is factually accurate but Bernard Cornwall tells the story from the point of view of individual characters that brings the historical facts to life and makes for a more personal understanding of the dreadful and brutal period in US history.

I’m a voracious reader but rarely of novels. I bought this because a friend gave me the other three books in this series and got this one (the first in the series) for completion. I am well into the book and it is an easy read; characters still being introduced and developed.

It has prompted me to research the American Civil War for background and context and I am grateful for the prompt to learn a bit about that. In summary (so far), an easy read that I assure will appeal to fans of classic novels of historical content.

Rebel is the first of a four-part historical fiction series about the Civil War. It takes the unlikely premise of a Northerner from Boston fighting for the South and makes is believable. The book is highly entertaining, well researched, historically accurate in the broad sense of conditions, battles, attitudes, etc.

, and the battles themselves are described graphically and realistically. The protagonist also meets some of the famous people of the day. All these things are a hallmark of the prolific Mr. Cornwell.

If you like historical fiction, once you have read this book you will likely be looking for the other three.

Jeff Shaara has written BOTH a prequel and a sequel to his late father’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, “The Killer Angels,” from which the motion picture “Gettysburg” was derived. “The Last Full Measure” is the story of what happened to the nation, especially the South, after the decisive Battle of Gettysburg.

Civil War devotees will treasure this trilogy, including the prequel “Gods and Generals” and include it in their libraries. These books are not just history books, but a study in character of the principles known to most people: Robert E.

Lee, U. S. Grant, “Stonewall” Jackson, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, Winfield Hancock – most all the generals, wearing both blue and gray. “Must” reading for any American history afficionado.

The end of the American Civil War from the end of the battle of Gettysburg to the end of the war. Well-written sequel to “The Killer Angels” written by the son of the original author. My only problem was that it was almost too sad to read.

Last Full Measure is an excellent retelling of the final day’s of the Confederacy. Compelling reading & a worthy conclusion of the Shaara brothers trilogy

What a beautiful story of sacrificial love of a mother for her daughter and of men and women who love country and fellow man no matter the color of skin or whether loyalty lie with north or south. This is an amazing look at the women who dealt with the aftermath of war and found inner strength they didn’t know they possessed.

The historical detail is rich and the characters are admirable. To me it showed that even when we lose everything Christ steps in and makes beauty from ashes in peoples hearts. Ms. Green weaves a tapestry that has many tangled threads on the back that can look a mess but when you turn it over it becomes a beautiful work of art.

This book and series needs to Grace everyone’s bookshelves. I was gifted a copy of this book. The honest review and opinions are my own and were not required.

When a horrific battle rips through Gettysburg, the farm of Union widow Liberty Holloway is disfigured into a Confederate field hospital, bringing her face to face with unspeakable suffering–and a Rebel scout who awakens her long dormant heart.

While Liberty’s future crumbles as her home is destroyed, the past comes rushing back to Bella, a former slave and Liberty’s hired help, when she finds herself surrounded by Southern soldiers, one of whom knows the secret that would place Liberty in danger if revealed.

In the wake of shattered homes and bodies, Liberty and Bella struggle to pick up the pieces the battle has left behind. Will Liberty be defined by the tragedy in her life, or will she find a way to triumph over it? Widow of Gettysburg is inspired by first-person accounts from women who lived in Gettysburg during the battle and its aftermath.

My Review: The best element of this story was how Green wove a little bit of a character from her last book, Wedded To War in this novel. I was rather hoping Charlotte would make an appearance, and I was not disappointed.

The biggest contrast in this second installment to Heroines Behind The Lines is that while Charlotte was medically trained for her nursing duties, Liberty was not. Liberty is a very likable heroine as you can relate to her struggles to learn how to care for the men brought to her farm.

And of course, what would a Civil War novel be like if there wasn’t the North-against-South story line? Plenty of that tension in this novel, as Liberty is the widow of a Union soldier, and her home is converted into a Confederate field hospital.

Surprisingly, this commonly portrayed theme did not keep it from being a wonderful novel with fantastic research, made complete by the fact that Green revives the history of the almost forgotten women who valiantly aided the doctors during the four year conflict.

The theme of faith was strong, which makes a winner for me. Recommended for personal reading of anyone who loves history, and a perfect title for Christian book clubs. This book was provided by the publisher for free in exchange for an honest review.

In this heartrending story of the Battle of Gettysburg Jocelyn Green gives us a look into the lives of several of the many women that struggled to survive the horrors of war. Liberty Holloway our nineteen year old heroine has been a widow for almost two years since her young husband Levi died in the Battle of Bull Run.

Since a young age Liberty was taught by her cruel aunt she wasn’t worth anything and that she would never make anything of her life. That’s why her mother gave her away. So now Liberty lives all alone on her farm still in her Widow’s Weeds.

Will she forever be known as the Widow of Gettysburg representing all the women who’ve lost so much? Will she ever feel she has made something of her life? The day a stranger rode up to the farm and asked for something to eat was the day things began to change for Liberty.

She has no clue he is Silas Ford the handsome young man that tried to befriend her when her aunt would belittle her as a child. Once upon a time Silas had been a student at the Lutheran Seminary in Gettysburg until an outrageous chain of events forever changed his life.

When Silas mentions to Liberty that she should start living again at first she is upset but after he leaves she thinks about it and decides he is right so she puts away her mourning clothes. Will Liberty ever see this handsome stranger again? Bella Jamison a freed slave that works for some of the ladies of Gettysburg remembers the feel of a whip slicing her back apart.

She remembers every atrocity done to her at the hand of an evil master and because of an unspeakable act Bella has to keep a secret that could destroy the live of someone she holds dear if it ever comes to light.

On July 1st 1863 the first sounds of battle were heard and Liberty had no clue that in a very few hours her house would be used as a field hospital for hundreds of wounded and dying Confederate soldiers.

When the doctor asks Liberty to help hold a light for him to perform amputations she tells him she cannot do it. Will Liberty find a strength that can only come from God to help these men whose cause took the life of her husband? Will she follow God’s leading and realize she can make her life count by helping those who cannot help themselves? My simple words cannot begin to describe the depth of this novel.

From the very beginning I found myself drawn in the story it was as if I could close my eyes and hear the sounds of battleóthe cannons firing the sounds of the wounded in agony. Then I think of all that was lost during that timeóthe young men who only a few years before were babies on their momma’s laps the men who died that day because of their love for this country who left behind wives and children.

Ms. Green did a superb job bringing to light the strength of the women that were left to clean up the carnage this war left behind. Ms. Green has actual statements from women that survived this horrific time it was so enthralling to read in their own words how they felt about what was happening.

This book is not for the faint of heart because there are scenes that will disturb you. Even though I found myself in tears at one point from the descriptions I feel my life is so much more enriched after reading this and I know you will feel the same.

Thank you Ms. Green for creating this masterpiece.

This should be a part of every high school and/or college curriculum. Anyone who thinks our country is pretty crumby especially today. Both books show the integrity, the courage, the honesty, the unbelievable misery the Founders and soldiers (who knew NOTHING about fighting in an army) of our country went through just so YOU, personally, can have a freedom no one else in the world has.

We have become such fools.

A look into the revolutionary war according to a few actors that you will recognize. Easy reading book. But remember, it is historical fiction written by a master of that genre.

Very well written novel. Each chapter features one of the founding father’s, weaving together a historical novel. You can read it through. or read it slowly over time, chapter by chapter since each chapter stands alone in its context.

A wonderful read and thought provoking picture of the events leading up the American Revolution.

Jeff Shaara does an excellent job of going through what the different characters are experiencing during the same time period. From the generals on both sides of the conflict down to the grunts on the ground, the book makes for a complete understanding of the war from all points of view.

I like war novels in general, and Shaara rarely disappoints. I enjoyed “No Less than Victory” a lot, and it’s going to stay on my shelves for a while! I’d definitely recommend it, along with one of my favorite war novels – “Top Secret Flight” by Dale Cox.

I’m a big fan of all Jeff Shaara’s books, but No Less than Victory is my favorite. I love war novels in general (my all-time favorite is Fatal Incident by Jim Proebstle), so I’ve read quite a few. No Less than Victory has earned a permanent spot on my bookshelf.

If I Were You, by Lynn Austin, is certainly an unforgettable work of historical fiction. Sweeping across two decades and continents, this epic novel is engrossing and thoroughly moving as it tells the remarkable story of two friends bonded together through love and adversity.

This book is skillfully written and filled with heart, hope, and redemption. From the gripping plot, to the extraordinary characters, to the compelling themes, this thoughtful novel delighted my imagination and easily held my attention page after page making it the type of book I long to ponder and enjoy.

If I Were You is a novel that enriched my life with hours of pleasurable reading time. Within this novel, the well-researched details and descriptions ensure that every moment spent reading this book is a thoughtful experience to be savored.

The well-developed characters are simply captivating and abound with authenticity and credibility. Their questions, their insecurities, their fears, their needs, and their desires are wholly believable, heart-wrenching, and inspiring.

As they struggle through much loss and uncertainty, they grapple with their faith and God’s specific purposes for their lives. Yet through it all, they demonstrate determination and courage as they bravely endeavor to help each other and save others during many perilous situations brought on by war and its aftermath.

The opportunities, the choices, and the trials that the characters endure are intricately developed, and from them there unfolds a story that is truly surprising, enriching, and ultimately uplifting.

Ms. Austin is an incredibly talented author with a real gift for meaningful story-telling. If I Were You is a book I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who enjoys terrific historical fiction. *I was given a copy of this book by the publisher and NetGalley.

A review was not required. The review I have written is voluntary and contains opinions that are entirely my own.

With every Lynn Austin book I read, I anticipate wonderfully developed characters, an interesting plot and a captivating writing style that all bewitch me into leaving all household chores undone until I’ve finished the book! This book was no different.

The historical setting alone is worth reading the book. Austin is masterful at researching the historical context and using subtle details to help us understand the larger picture, in this case, WWII.

Unlike other books set in this time period, the setting is not in continental Europe nor in the United States, but primarily in England. \n\nWe are introduced to Eve and Audrey, the two main characters, who are both interestingly best friends as well as a maid and her mistress.

These two must face both internal and external challenges that at times threaten to tear them apart or bring them together. They discover the pains and joys of true friendship and each challenge the other to grow in ways they perhaps could not on their own.

They challenge one another’s faith in believing that God is good and God is near to those who are broken-hearted. There is romance, wartime adventure, deaths, births and many other life experiences that mark their journeys together.

The switch in time periods- from late 1930’s to 1950’s, throughout the book lends to its unique twists. \n\nAustin not only provides a beautiful story with inspiring characters set in a fascinating setting, but does so in a way that reminds the readers of the most important truths of all– the truths of the Gospel.

Her subtle but purposeful message highlights the timelessness of the hope and salvation that all men and women need, regardless of nationality, economic status, age, time period. Austin weaves these truths throughout the book in such a way as to not distract from the plot or characters, but to develop them in a very realistic and intentional way.

I recommend this book to you as a beautiful piece of historical fiction.

If I Were You is one of the best historical novels I’ve read in a long time. Reminiscent of two of my favorite British shows (Downton Abbey and Call the Midwife), this book captures the plight of England during World War Two in ways I had never considered.

The two protagonists, Audrey Clarkson and Eve Dawson, grew up together at Wellingford Hall, but are from two very different classes in Great Britain. Author Lynn Austin deftly leads her readers through two parallel times in Audrey and Eve’s lives: the 1940s and the 1950s.

At first, I wasn’t sure I would like switching back and forth in time, but I was pulled into the stories of both decades equally. so much so that I didn’t skip ahead to see what happened on one timeline while neglecting the other.

I don’t like plots that are predictable, and by chapter 5 I knew this book was going to be full of surprises. I was surprised not only by twists and turns in the story, but also by how much I did not know about WW2, Great Britain, and the impact on women there.

I cherish a story that is told in such a way that even as I read for pleasure, I can work through things that trouble me in real life. If I Were You certainly does that. As I quickly became interested in how Audrey and Eve would tear down the wall of hostility between them, I realized it was crucial to first understand how that wall was built throughout their lives-even though many of their experiences were shared experiences.

Through the harshness of war, Austin gently invites her readers to explore questions of suffering and sin against the backdrop of Christ’s redemptive work. Audrey and Eve both have to learn to face their fears as well as huge mistakes they made in misunderstanding each other and in taking away what rightfully belonged to another.

The depth of this story makes If I Were You a book I am already looking forward to reading again, something I rarely do. with the exception of Jane Austen.

If you’ve never read a novel by Jeff Shaara, be ready for a treat. This is not non-fiction. This is not a sleep-inducing, dry novel. It is an engrossing combination of personal stories from all levels of the battlefield.

You experience the point of view from the commanding generals to those fighting on the ground. Always an enjoyable read!.

This book has given me great insight into a period of history I heretofore considered male territory, too complicated and gruesome for my senior citizen, tender hearted, squeamish mentality. Instead, it has awakened an interest in knowing things I should have known for decades about a critical time in my country’s history.

and a sure knowedge that if we fail to remember the past we are doomed to repeat it.

It’s an easy to understand read with explanation of why Generals chose their states over the Union. Also explains that President Abraham Lincoln was not liked my many people of his time as he worked to keep the Union together.

Read the novel, it’s fantastic, you almost feel as though you are there to the point of you can feel the tension, smell the smells of battle. Today I watched the film, Gettysburg. The film extraordinarily is 98% the same as the book.

Can only say what a brilliant read and superb film, it’s a man’s film. Well worth your time.

Michael Shaara’s Pulitzer Prize-winning historical novel “The Killer Angels” provides more details about the Battle of Gettysburg than any piece of academic nonfiction. His account of the “High Water Mark” of the Civil War features deft characterizations, including Confederate Generals Robert E.

Lee, James Longstreet, and George Pickett as well as Union Generals Buford, and Hancock. Shaara successfully presents various perspectives of the three-day battle by using his characters’ voices. The most compelling figure in the book is Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, whose 20th Maine regiment held the Union’s left flank on the second day of the battle.

The unit’s bravery at Little Round Top helped turn the tide of the second day and set the stage for the third day’s confrontation at the Angle, during Pickett’s Charge. “The Killer Angels” includes numerous maps, which convey a complete sense of what happened at Gettysburg, during July 1-3, 1863.

Michael Shaara’s ability to convey the thoughts of men in battle- especially their confusion, the “fog of battle”- is positively breath-taking. Reading history is rarely so informative, or as entertaining, as in this book.

Anyone who has been to the Gettysburg battlefield will appreciate Shaara’s ability to bring the battlefield to life.

I found this to be a difficult read, not because it was poorly written but because of the amount of detail and facts included. Shaara uses actual notes written by the generals and their lieutenants to keep the story acurate with detail.

A great depiction of the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War. The Civil War was a war between the North (Union) and the South (Confederates) of the United States of America over various different reasons.

The war lasts from April 12, 1861 to May 1865 occurring 5 years of bloodshed against a divided country. Shaara specifically covers the Battle of Gettysburg which takes place from July 1, 1863, to July 3, 1863.

The Battle of Gettysburg was a major turning point of the war. If the Confederates had won Gettysburg, the Confederates would have certainly threatened to end the war with a march on Washington.