Florence

1862 · réf. 15830 — 1862. Boston: Crosby and Nichols 1862. Original blind-stamped dark green cloth illustrated on the spine in gilt. First Edition of this novel set in and written during the American Civil War. It is the best-known if not only novel by "Florence Erwin" -- about whom virtually nothing is known. In fact both the title page and the binding are intentionally ambiguous: since the central characters of the book are the journeying Florence Erwin and her husband is FLORENCE ERWIN'S THREE HOMES the title only or the author plus the title The headline atop each page is "The Three Homes." The story follows the lives of three women each from a different background who are affected by the war in different ways. The first woman Mary is a wealthy plantation owner from the South who is forced to flee her home when the Union Army invades. The second woman Alice is a Northern abolitionist who moves to the South to help slaves escape to freedom. The third woman Kate is a young girl who is sent to live with her aunt in the North after her father dies in battle. As the war progresses the lives of these three women become increasingly intertwined. Amz. It is interesting that since this book was "deposited" in 1861 and first published in 1862 the three women's tales involve a lot of imagined outcomes on the part of the author. Included are numerous illustrative plates. This is a remarkably close-to-fine copy of this uncommon wartime novel spine gilt a little oxidized front endpaper very slightly cracked but scarcely any wear. unknown books