First published 2021
Eleanora Nona Willauer pours her private thoughts into her journal as if writing to a trusted friend. The Civil War rages around her small Tennessee village of Cumberland Furnace, where the iron works anchor daily life. Marriage occupies her mind constantly. When a close relative shocks everyone by wedding a Union officer, Eleanora feels disgusted. The war years transform her perspective on love and loyalty. She begins seeing her potential suitors not as enemies or allies but as individual men with their own strengths and weaknesses. A Yankee captain wins her affections despite her earlier prejudices. Eleanora leaves Cumberland Furnace behind for Nashville and a new life. Her journal entries cease, but her story continues through the experiences of those who knew her best. After surviving the chaos of war, Eleanora discovers the peace and contentment she had always sought.
Genres: american-civil-war, american-fiction, historical-fiction, 19th-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Cumberland Furnace, Nashville, Tennessee
Period: Civil War
330 pages · Paperback · Independently published