The Shiloh Legacy: World War I Veterans 10 Years Later

Bodie Thoene’s Shiloh Legacy series includes two more books after the great beginning of In My Father’s House. The next two books, A Thousand Shall Fall and Say to This Mountain, are written as a double-novel, one continuous story that takes place ten years after the first book’s end. Through these two books, we explore the world of America in the last half of 1929 – the Stock Market Crash and the beginning of the Great Depression.

A Thousand Shall Fall sets the scene in the last two months before the crash, a snapshot of life during the crazy days of the booming Wall Street right before its collapse. The concluding book picks right up where the previous one left off, at the beginning of the actual stock market crash in late October, through the end of that year. As with the first book in the series, the novels again follow the lives of several World War I veterans in their lives across America – Oklahoma, Ohio, and New York City – to give a broad picture of classic American life in the late 1920s.

Of course, ten years have passed, and so new characters are introduced – especially Birch and Trudy’s young boys Tommy and Bobby, and Max Meyer’s son David. While the Tucker family portrays the idyllic rural family living out in the sticks of Shiloh, Arkansas, David Meyer is a street-wise city kid living in Philadelphia, who seeks out his father living in another big city, New York. A Thousand Shall Fall thus provides plenty of contrasts – life out on the farm, small-town gossip and racial strife, as opposed to the dark life of gangsters and the free-wheeling wealthy consumed with the Stock Market. Though the Tucker story is interesting enough, the New York plot is a much greater page-turner; Davey Meyer is an especially fascinating character, in a story somewhat reminiscent of Charles Dickens novels.

After resolving some of the suspense in A Thousand Shall Fall, the concluding book deals more with characters and their relationships. How will the Tucker family, Jefferson Canfield, and Max and his son survive the Great Depression? After wondering about the Warne family in Ohio (never mentioned in the first half of the 1929 story), we also get their view – and that of Jefferson’s family -- living in the Rubber Capitol of Akron, Ohio. This last book focuses more on personal religious faith, as Max continues to come to terms with his life – beyond just finding out about David. The black characters, mainly the various family members of Hock and Willa Mae Canfield, are also well-developed and strong in their hope in God against all the terrible circumstances they face.

Apparently many of the characters are featured in other Thoene books (Zion Covenant and Zion Chronicles), but "The Shiloh Legacy" only has brief references to characters in the "Zion Covenant" series. One line mentions Max’s "rookie reporter" John Murphy, but even more interesting is the revelation of the "D’Fat Lady" singer, as the identity of Hattie Canfield, one of Jefferson’s sisters. But several of the characters, including Ellie Warne (briefly introduced here as a 9-year-old, nicknamed "Boots"), show up in the "Zion Chronicles" series. As I read these books I could not help but consider, too, that the children of 1929 would indeed grow up to be the young adults of the World War II era. The "Shiloh Legacy" is another excellent series from Bodie Thoene, one that could easily go beyond the three books in the set.

Mountain Shadows: Regional Fiction about the Adirondacks

Mountain Shadows, by Patricia Reiss Brooks, is an interesting regional historical fiction novel that highlights a unique period in American history. Through the setting – upper New York State in 1926 – we get a look at both the Prohibition-era "rum runners" and the tuberculosis "cure cottages" of Saranac Lake.

Irish Catholic Joe Devlin struggles to pay for his wife’s ever-increasing medical bills at a cure cottage. Along the way he ends up working with the rum runners, leading a very confused double-life –a mechanic at the Club in Lake Placid during the week, a rum runner going up to Canada on weekends, mixed in with visits to his sick wife.

The regional history research is outstanding, particularly about the troopers’ special unit and their escapades with the "rum runners." The cure cottage scenes also portray the strange world of "lungers" sleeping outside on porches while enjoying the carefree, morally loose "Roaring Twenties." Mountain Shadows doesn’t really elaborate on the history (prior to 1925) of the tuberculosis "cure" in Saranac Lake, or of the detailed care available at the sanatoriums. Rather, the story gives a glimpse at one sample "cure cottage," and what daily life may have been like, complete with the list of "the rules" the patients followed. The overall climate, the special community feeling, of Saranac Lake is also well contrasted with the outside world. Lake Placid in particular was quite clear about keeping the diseases out; the story even hints at the standard prejudice of the time, referencing a sign marked "no jews or lungers."

The author’s website, www.mountainshadowsbook.com, has additional research material as well as background related to this novel.

The story itself is well-written, with a decent, suspenseful page-turning plot. Other than Joe, the characters are not all well-defined and seem rather stereotyped in some cases. The ending seems a bit rushed, as it takes the easiest way out of the many problems to get to a neat conclusion. Still, the story and overall dialog works great, keeping the story moving. Mountain Shadows is an entertaining read and interesting for its look at this unusual period of New York State history.

The Dawning of Deliverance: The Russians, Book 5

The Dawning of Deliverance, Book 5 in Judith Pella’s "The Russians," continues the story of the Russian Federcenko family. Begun in 1876, this saga now covers the early years of the 20th century – 1904, in particular. Also, after focusing more on Anna and Sergei during the earlier books, The Dawning of Deliverance focuses primarily on the younger generation: Mariana Remizov, and Anna and Sergei’s sons Yuri and Andrei.

The major historical people and events now include the Russo-Japanese war and the beginnings of labor unrest back home, culminating in the tragic events of "Bloody Sunday" in January 1905. Mariana goes to the war front as a nurse, and through her experiences we learn of the bungled Russian war operation, the great humiliation that Russia suffered at the hands of the smaller, less powerful Japan. Back home, Sergei helps to teach factory workers, becoming acquainted with the laborers and early unions. Along the way, we meet such historical figures as General Stoessel (in Asia) and Father Gapon, the peaceful priest involved with the labor movement, and even a young Alexander Kerensky, future Soviet leader.

The Federcenko clan has lost its earlier influence with the Tsar, but directly and indirectly we get a glimpse of the Romanov family, including its family secret and the beginning of Alexandra’s relationship with Rasputin. Anna’s brother Paul is rarely seen, and still interacts with Lenin and the revolutionaries – yet now shows signs of maturity.

Some of the plots seem a bit worn, especially the continued villainy from Basil Anickin and Cyril Vlasenko. After nearly 25 years and several books, it seems time to bring in some new antagonists. Instead, both Basil and Cyril stick around, still consumed with their plots to destroy the Federcenko family. Mariana also finds herself, once again, desired by two men – the American reporter Daniel Trent, and a young Russian nobleman she meets at the war front. The love plot is resolved and brought to closure, though, and the two villains thankfully do not dominate the story overall.

Despite the predictable revenge plots, though, the overall story is enjoyable and educational. Particularly intriguing are new character developments in the sons Yuri (now 14 to 15) and Andrei (age 12), who will take on further prominence in the next book in the series (White Nights, Red Morning). The Dawning of Deliverance is entertaining historical fiction about a family living through troubled times in pre-Revolutionary Russia.

In My Father's House: Post-World War I America

Bodie Thoene’s "Shiloh Legacy" begins with In My Father’s House. Starting near the end of World War I, In My Father’s House covers a tumultuous period of history: the horrors of the Great War, the Flu Epidemic, and then the racial violence of the post-war years.

The story follows the lives of several young soldiers in France at the war’s end – their last battles, the Armistice celebrations, welcoming home and their adjustments to post-war life. The story at first includes Max Meyer and his affair with a young Irish woman, but that particular plot gets to a certain point and then stops (to be resumed, apparently, in the next book in the series). In particular, In My Father’s House details the lives of Ellis Warne in Ohio, and several other characters – farmboy Birch Tucker, black soldier Jefferson Canfield, and Jewish Trudy Meyer – residing in Western Arkansas. Through the two settings – Ohio and Arkansas – we see the major issues confronting both regions, including the Ku Klux Klan’s influence in both the Jim Crow South and the politics of suburban Ohio.

The "Shiloh Legacy" series is said to include some of the characters referenced later in the Zion book series. Having read the "Zion Covenant" pre-World War II series, it was nice to meet the younger Theo Lindheim, if only briefly.

As with their other novels, the Thoenes again bring a well-researched story rich with information about the time period. The year 1919 was among the more violent in race riots, and the story makes reference to such things as the Chicago riot and the general anti-immigrant, isolationist attitude of most Americans. President Woodrow Wilson even makes a brief appearance, and characters later follow-up with the news of Wilson’s unsuccessful attempt to have the U.S. join the "League of Nations."

The one weakness is the author’s tendency – so common in modern-day historical fiction works – to project today’s politically correct ideas, especially concerning racial issues, onto the major characters of an earlier time period. At times it seems that some of the characters (especially Trudy Meyer and Birch Tucker) are mere transplants from our day, with seemingly no clue about black-white relationships in the early twentieth century. Even Doc Warne seems amazingly out of step with his contemporaries, considering the economic and social circumstances.

As the first part of a series, this first novel has a seemingly abrupt ending, one that leaves too many unresolved plot threads. The next two books in the series continue the story over the next decade. In My Father’s House is an excellent start to a trilogy about these World War I veterans and their families, in their lives after the Great War.

The Flames of Rome

The Flames of Rome, by Paul L. Maier and first published in 1981, is an excellently researched historical novel about Rome in the days of Nero, including the years preceding and following the Great Fire of A.D. 64. Beginning in 47 A.D., in the last years of Claudius, the story relates the great political and moral corruption of Rome, and the sordid events surrounding those in Rome’s highest power. Here we meet Claudius’ third wife, Messalina, followed by his last wife, his niece Agrippina – and her son Domitius (later renamed Nero). Throughout the next twenty years, the story follows the life of Rome’s leaders, alternating between the story at Caesar’s palace – a cast including Nero, Agrippina, and the great philosopher Seneca – as well as the household of Aulus Plautius, one of Rome’s political leaders and war heroes. Special focus is placed on Aulus’ son-in-law, Flavius Sabinus (older brother to the future emperor Vespasian), who was Mayor of Rome during the Great Fire. After a many-character beginning, Sabinus in particular becomes the major focus and thrust of the story.

Christian characters also have a role, albeit a smaller one, in this story told from a Roman’s perspective. The fledgling Christian "cult" is first associated in their minds with the Jews, one of many religions allowed under Roman law, and of no consequence. One will not find serious, in-depth early Christian teaching here, either. A few of the Roman women are said to convert, but we really don’t see the events from their perspectives, or any details about the church meetings they attend. Yet throughout the twenty years of The Flames of Rome we get a nice chronology, a fascinating correlation of Roman history with many events listed in the book of Acts, plus the subsequent events up through Peter’s and Paul’s martyrdoms. It is insightful to learn, for instance, that Paul and his shipmates, after their shipwreck and wintering on Malta, most likely were in the same area, during the very week when Nero had his mother executed, near Naples in the early spring of A.D. 61.

Maier takes a serious approach to his historical work. All the characters named were actual known Romans. Also, unlike most historical fiction books, The Flames of Rome has extensive chapter-by-chapter notes. Of course, in dealing with such a topic -- ancient history of which so little is known -- the author does not hesitate to extrapolate what might have happened, complete with dialogue. The author takes pains to portray his best guess, but in the end we really don’t know the details of the Apostle Paul’s first trial before Nero – or how the fire in Rome really started. Yet through this fascinating blend of history and story, an intriguing plot develops, in which we see the major players of both the ruling Romans and the early Christian leaders.

Paul L. Maier’s The Flames of Rome is an excellent addition to good historical novels, ones that have good plots and well-researched history.