Review of “With This Pledge” by Tamera Alexander

Book description from Book Bub:

“What can a woman–a mere governess–do against the scourge of slavery?

Elizabeth “Lizzie” Clouston’s quietly held principles oppose those of the Southern Cause–but when forty thousand soldiers converge on the fields of Franklin, Tennessee, the war demands an answer. The Carnton home, where she is governess, is converted into a Confederate hospital, and Lizzie is called upon to assist the military doctor with surgeries that determine life or death. Faced with the unimaginable, she must summon fortitude, even as she fears for the life of Towny, her fiancé and lifelong friend.

As a young soldier lies dying in Lizzie’s arms, she vows to relay his final words to his mother, but knows little more than the boy’s first name. That same night, decorated Mississippi sharpshooter Captain Roland Ward Jones extracts a different promise from Lizzie: that she intervene should the surgeon decide to amputate his leg.

Lizzie is nothing if not a woman of her word, earning the soldiers’ respect as she tends to the wounded within Carnton’s walls. None is more admiring than Captain Jones, who doesn’t realize she is pledged to another. But as Lizzie’s heart softens toward the Confederate captain, she discovers his moral ground is at odds with her own. Now torn between love, principles, and pledges made, she struggles to be true to her own heart while standing for what she knows is right–no matter the cost.

From the pages of history and the personal accounts of those who endured the Battle of Franklin, Tamera Alexander weaves the real-life love letters between Captain Roland Ward Jones and Miss Elizabeth Clouston into a story of unlikely romance first kindled amid the shadows of war.”

My Review:

I’ve known for quite some time that Tamara Alexander is a gifted author.  Even knowing that, this book has simply blown me away.  Her depth of research is incredible.  The way that she has taken the historical facts about Carnton Plantation in Franklin, Tennessee and turned them into this compelling, heart-rending story is remarkable.  The first chapter alone is amazing in setting everything up for the rest of the book.  The way she describes the battle and what it was like for 40,000 soldiers to descend in the area around the plantation made me feel as if I were an eyewitness to the events.  I’ve never read another Christian historical novel set in the Civil War time period that seems as authentic as this one.  She does not lessen how horrible the war was and what it was like for a family home to unexpectedly become a hospital for the wounded soldiers.

We view this story through the eyes of Lizzie Clouston, the governess for the McGavock family who own Carnton.  In one short day, she goes from teaching the young children there at the plantation to assisting in surgery as the wounded soldiers come by the hundreds to Carnton. Lizzie is a strong and compassionate young woman who finds her strength in God as she faces these unimaginable challenges.  There’s a romance that develops between Lizzie and Confederate Captain Roland Ward Jones as he recovers from his injuries there at Carnton.  But they face an obstacle that seems impossible to solve:  Although Lizzie is a southerner, she is against slavery.  Roland is a caring slave owner.  The author does an excellent job presenting both of their viewpoints and keeping the story real as Lizzie and Roland try to reconcile their beliefs.

This story has a strong thread of faith that runs all the way through it.  It’s a clean novel with no foul language, and all the war scenes are handled perfectly.  I’m looking forward to following Tamera Alexander’s research and read the personal accounts of the  real Lizzie and Roland.  I think a road trip to  visit Carnton Plantation in Tennessee will be in my future.  

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.