- Paperback: 368 pages
- Publisher: Touchstone (17 May 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0743257502
- ISBN-13: 978-0743257503
- Product Dimensions: 12.7 x 20.3 x 2.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,118,563 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| ||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
From childhood, Susan Gray and her cousin Louisa May Alcott have shared a safe, insular world of outdoor adventures and grand amateur theater -- a world that begins to evaporate with the outbreak of the Civil War. Frustrated with sewing uniforms and wrapping bandages, the two women journey to Washington, D.C.'s Union Hospital to volunteer as nurses. Nothing has prepared them for the horrors of this grueling experience. There they meet the remarkable Clara Barton -- the legendary Angel of the Battlefield -- and she becomes their idol and mentor. Soon one wounded soldier begins to captivate and puzzle them all -- a man who claims to be a blacksmith, but whose appearance and sharp intelligence suggest he might not be who he says he is. Through the Civil War and its chaotic aftermath to the apex of Louisa's fame as the author of Little Women and Lincoln's appointment of Clara to the job of finding and naming the war's missing and dead, this novel is ultimately the story of friendship between women -- women who broke the mold society set for them, while still reckoning with betrayal, love, and forgiveness.
About the Author
Patricia O'Brien is the coauthor of I Know Just What You Mean, a New York Times bestseller. A journalist, political correspondent, and TV and radio commentator, she has published articles in Esquire, Glamour, and Harper's Bazaar. She lives with her husband in Washington, D.C.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
He was so little, the colored boy wedged in Abba's oven. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
He was so little, the colored boy wedged in Abba's oven. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
This was an interesting novel and kept me entertained throughout. I have to admit not being a fan of Alcott, I may have read Little Women when I was younger, but I don't recall it. That will be to be on my TBR list for the future.
The story is told in the first person by Alcott's fictional cousin, Susan Gray. She recounts their childhood, family and famous residents of Concord. As adults, the Civil War begins and Mary and Louisa volunteer as nurses in a Washington DC hospital, where they meet the famous nurse and activist Clara Barton, and the mysterious patient John Sulie, who Louisa is strongly attracted to. Do be warned, this was not a pretty war, nor was the aftermath on the wounded soldiers. The author doesn't pull any punches here. The story then shifts to the aftermath of the Civil War, and Clara Barton's mission to account for all the missing and dead soldiers, which the government would prefer to remain unaccounted for. The book finishes with the remainder of Louisa's life in Condord until her death.
While Susan is a fictional cousin, it was a good way to bring the reader closer to Alcott's inner circle and know her better. Some parts of the story play a little loose with known history, which are acknowledged in the author's notes at the end of the book. All in all an entertaining read, but as I previously noted, I'm not a huge fan of Alcott. Good read, but not one I'm likely to take off the shelf and read again every few years.
The story is told in the first person by Alcott's fictional cousin, Susan Gray. She recounts their childhood, family and famous residents of Concord. As adults, the Civil War begins and Mary and Louisa volunteer as nurses in a Washington DC hospital, where they meet the famous nurse and activist Clara Barton, and the mysterious patient John Sulie, who Louisa is strongly attracted to. Do be warned, this was not a pretty war, nor was the aftermath on the wounded soldiers. The author doesn't pull any punches here. The story then shifts to the aftermath of the Civil War, and Clara Barton's mission to account for all the missing and dead soldiers, which the government would prefer to remain unaccounted for. The book finishes with the remainder of Louisa's life in Condord until her death.
While Susan is a fictional cousin, it was a good way to bring the reader closer to Alcott's inner circle and know her better. Some parts of the story play a little loose with known history, which are acknowledged in the author's notes at the end of the book. All in all an entertaining read, but as I previously noted, I'm not a huge fan of Alcott. Good read, but not one I'm likely to take off the shelf and read again every few years.
Format:Paperback
Louisa May Alcott and the American Civil War shown in a very new light and a magical pace and style conspire to produce a thought provoking story of a period which the history books leave out. Northern US soldiers injured at the front hospitalised in appalling conditions from which there seems to be no way out.
In the middle are middle class American young women with no experience or exposure to the real side of life who volunteer to nurse and care and counsel these victims of conflict.
In the middle are middle class American young women with no experience or exposure to the real side of life who volunteer to nurse and care and counsel these victims of conflict.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
17 reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
GREAT STORY
5 May 2004
Format:Paperback
This is a great story set in a time of great history with great characters. Pat O'Brien has skillfully woven the lives of Louisa May Alcott and Clara Barton into a novel that's exciting to read. As historic events unfold, the friendship between Susan Gray, the fictional narrator of the book, and Louisa May Alcott is tested, broken and finally restored.
The insights into the personalities of Louisa May Alcott and Clara Barton were an extra bonus. I especially appreciated the "Afterward" at the end of the book where Ms O'Brien explained where the true facts ended and the fiction began.
I LOVED THIS BOOK!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Excellent, must read book for all women.
10 Jun 2004
Format:Paperback
The Glory Cloak is an empowering book that shows what women can accomplish under the worst of circumstances. This novel centers around Clara Barton and Louisa May Alcott during and after the Civil War and ties their stories together through a fictional character named Susan that portrays a cousin to Louisa. This is the story of a lifelong friendship, women surviving and thriving while cleaning up the messes made my men and most importantly chronicles the accomplishments of women smart enough to stay single and childfree despite the pressures of society. I only wish I had read this book thirty years ago...
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Big Women--Louisa May Alcott and Clara Barton
3 May 2004
Format:Paperback
The recent discovery in a building in downtown Washington, boarded up for more than one hundred years, of an office where Clara Barton had been seeking the whereabouts (and burial sites) of thousands of missing Civil War soldiers, led Patricia O'Brien to write this tender and exciting tale of what might have happened if Louisa May Alcott--as a volunteer nurse--had met Clara in a vile Washington hospital, and had apparently fallen in love with a wounded soldier who was to move mysteriously through both their lives. No wonder Gore Vidal gave the book such high praise!
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Fiction > Historical
- Books > Fiction > Literary Fiction
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
