Randy O'Brien

Another Great Review

Reviewed by Steve Leshin for Readers' Favorite

Gettysburg by Morning is intense historical fiction, seen through the lives of its two main protagonists, a woman named Eloise and her brother, Edward. The first chapter takes place in Concord, Massachusetts on July 4, 1861. The author, Randy O'Brien, focuses on Eloise, who gives a patriotic pro-Union speech at the beginning of the Civil War. The speech she gives begins: "Four score and five years ago." Sound familiar? It has significance later on in the story. After their father dies shortly after the day of her speech, the two siblings have decisions to make. With the war raging on, Eloise gives up her telegraph business and decides to fight for the Union, disguised as a soldier, which the author writes did happen with several women during that time. Eloise decides to do this to save the family name, after Edward enlists with the Massachusetts regiment, only to desert instead. She enlists using her brother's name.

Randy O'Brien pulls no punches as he tells us what happens to Eloise (now Edward) as a Union soldier, and Edward, a deserter who is stopped in the South, who becomes a rebel soldier. There are historical references like Eloise at the battle of Gettysburg. Eloise also met Oliver Wendell Holmes and President Abraham Lincoln. Edward's experience as a rebel fighter leads to some brutal scenes that give the reader a picture of what happens to him and many others due to the war. The chapters are short and go from third-person narrative to first-person at times, which gives the events depicted in the story more emphasis. Gettysburg by Morning is historical fiction with a dramatic story and character study for fans of the genre.

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Gettysburg By Morning

A patriotic young woman poses as a man to fight in the Civil War.

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A Great Kirkus Review
In this novel, a young woman intent on fighting for the Union cause during the Civil War disguises herself as a man.
In 1861, the nation hangs on the precipice of war, and Massachusetts teenager Eloise Jacobson, an outspoken critic of slavery, prepares to do her part. She's armed with a remarkable education, and since her family operates a telegraph office, she is skilled at Morse code. But her desire to contribute to the war effort is rebuffed because she is a woman, a rejection delivered by no less than Oliver Wendell Holmes. Her brother, Edward, enlists in the Army but, following their father's death, loses his nerve, a gutless decision that threatens to ruin the family's reputation. When Edward abandons his commitment and runs south, Eloise is struck by an ingenious, if radical, idea—she will assume the appearance of a man and take her brother's place, both saving the family name and providing her with an opportunity to fight. Her transformation is remarkable—she even takes up smoking a pipe in order to give her voice a more masculine timbre. With great intelligence and subtlety, O'Brien chronicles the fortunes of Eloise and Edward—the latter eventually overcomes his cowardice but only to fight for the Confederate side, making the siblings war enemies. Eloise is a remarkable and memorable hero—deeply intelligent and equally decent, she is profoundly changed by her experiences of battle and death and fully realizes the societal limitations placed on her gender: "I was surprised by how much my deception allowed me more freedom and responsibility than my real identity. I never realized just how merely being a woman could hamper my freedom of movement and my entrance into establishments." This is a historically astute story that deftly highlights an element of the war largely neglected.
A thrilling war tale, dramatically engrossing and historically authentic.

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The Farm by the critically acclaimed author of Gettysburg by Morning

In The Farm, Olaf "Ollie" Weber, a wounded Nazi prisoner of war, escapes a POW camp in Tennessee intent on assassinating President Truman. Ginger "Snaps" Wright accidentally helps Ollie elude prison guards, and when confronted, he rapes and impregnates the wannabe actress, who must then choose between Hollywood and motherhood. Finally, after years of shortages and suffering, it's time to dream big, and the Wright family, "Snaps," her mother Mary Lou, Uncle, and sisters Millie and Anne face tumultuous societal and economic changes. But the family must also grieve the loss of Millie's hero husband, Stanley, and help her find a way to find new meaning in her life. A battlefield medic, Stanley was one of the eighty-four victims of the Nazi war crime; the Massacre at Malmedy. The Farm is an exciting new story from the author of the critically acclaimed literary historical novel Gettysburg by Morning.

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Gettysburg By Morning

Eloise Jacobson celebrates the Fourth of July, 1861, by delivering a rousing speech, calling for war against the South. She inspires her brother to enlist, but he decides to run instead, and she takes his place. As a result, Eloise becomes one of over 200 documented cases of women served in the Civil War.