Wandering in the Words Press announces the release of Painted Trillium — A novel of the Civil War by Robert Brandt. Brandt, now retired after a storied career as a lawyer and judge, researched scholarly works and journal entries and consulted historians to craft his fictional debut.
Painted Trillium is available on Amazon in paperback and ebook formats.
The novel is set in 1863 during the Union Army of the Cumberland’s stay at Murfreesboro, Tennessee—one of the longest an entire Federal army remained in one place in the South. Brandt explores the relationship between the occupiers and the occupied and the impact the situation had on women who witnessed the unspeakable horror of a major battle and who suffered through unimaginable deprivation.
Brandt, who has also written books and articles on Tennessee travel and the outdoors, juxtaposes the state’s natural beauty with the ugliness of war in Painted Trillium. Impeccably researched, Brandt’s first novel is a compelling story of divided loyalties, survival, and rebirth during and after the most disruptive period in the history of our nation.
Summary:
The Civil War snuffs out life as Carrie Blaylock knows it, taking her father, her brother, and the man she planned to marry. The war also pulls back the curtain of convention, exposing Carrie’s deepest desire: to make her own way in life beyond the confines of domesticity. She vows to never be dependent on any man.
Excerpt:
Her only certainty in the second year of the war was uncertainty, the taunting uneasiness that comes from never knowing what to expect from one minute to the next. The markers that guided her life had gone missing; the features of the landscape that shaped her identity had mostly vanished. Her expectations for life slowly disappeared over the war-torn horizon, and as they did, a radical self-image incubated in her mind. But it was a hazy image, and the vagueness of it only heightened her apprehension.
Summary:
The Civil War snuffs out life as Carrie Blaylock knows it, taking her father, her brother, and the man she planned to marry. The war also pulls back the curtain of convention, exposing Carrie’s deepest desire: to make her own way in life beyond the confines of domesticity. She vows to never be dependent on any man.
Excerpt:
Her only certainty in the second year of the war was uncertainty, the taunting uneasiness that comes from never knowing what to expect from one minute to the next. The markers that guided her life had gone missing; the features of the landscape that shaped her identity had mostly vanished. Her expectations for life slowly disappeared over the war-torn horizon, and as they did, a radical self-image incubated in her mind. But it was a hazy image, and the vagueness of it only heightened her apprehension.
About the author:
Robert Brandt is the author of books and articles about Tennessee history, travel, and outdoors. Among his books are Touring the Middle Tennessee Backroads, Fodor’s Compass American Guide – Tennessee, and Middle Tennessee on Foot. His contributions to the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Cultures include entries about the period covered in Painted Trillium. His articles have appeared in the Sierra, Tennessee Historical Quarterly, and The Tennessee Conservationist. A native of Norris, Tennessee, he received a BA in history from Centre College and a JD from Vanderbilt University where he served as an adjunct faculty member. He is a retired judge and lawyer living in Nashville with his wife, Anne. Painted Trillium is his first work of fiction.
To interview the author or to request a review copy, please email Jennifer Chesak, jenchesak@me.com.