The Better Angels of Our Nature

July 17, 2006
A London native and self-described Civil War autodidact, Gylanders begins her U.S. debut on the eve of the Battle of Shiloh when the Union general William Tecumseh Sherman finds a young boy in oversized blues hiding in the bushes. The boy will say only that he's Jesse Davis, an orphan who comes from "far from here." Jesse is persistent in wanting to stay on, however, and Sherman puts him to work as an orderly in the field hospital. Sherman soon discovers (rather awkwardly) that Jesse is, in fact, a girl of about 15. He threatens to banish her, but never follows through, as Jesse seems talismanic: at Shiloh, Sherman has four horses shot out from under him and survives. The action moves to the siege of Vicksburg and concludes with Sherman's army off to Chattanooga (which surely means a sequel, since it puts us at November 1863, more than a year before war's end). Gylanders knows the era thoroughly (there were several such gender switches documented during the war) and writes convincingly about the horrors of the battlefield and the field hospital. In the enigmatic Jesse, she has a character who gives a compelling perspective on the times.

November 1, 2006
On the eve of the Battle of Shiloh, Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman discovers a young boy in an ill-fitting uniform hiding on the edges of his camp. Jesse Davis is an enigma, unwilling to tell where he comes from or who his family is and wanting only to serve Sherman. The general finally succumbs to Jesse's persistence, even though the boy still inspires questions. When it is revealed that the boy is actually a girl, even more questions arise. This ambiguity is never resolved, and as a result, the reader cannot connect with the hero/ine. Other characters, with the possible exception of Sherman, also seem superficial, although their physical descriptions are detailed and vivid. Self-educated Civil War expert Gylanders spent seven years traveling around the United States visiting battlefields and historic sites, researching and writing this novel of the battles of Shiloh and Vicksburg. Her description of the battles and skirmishes goes beyond troop movements, detailing the thoughts and actions of individual soldiers and re-creating the utter brutality and horror of war. One quibble: a map would have been helpful in tracking the positions of the armies. Recommended for larger public libraries.Ann Fleury, Tampa-Hillsborough Cty. P.L.

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.