For the Colleys of southeastern Missouri, the War between the States is a plague that threatens devastation, despite the family’s avowed neutrality. For 18-year-old Adair Colley, it is a nightmare that tears apart her family and forces her and her sisters to flee. The treachery of a fellow traveler, however, brings about her arrest, and she is caged with the criminal and deranged in a filthy … women’s prison.
But young Adair finds that love can live even in a place of horror and despair. Her interrogator, a Union major, falls in love with her and vows to return for her when the fighting is over. Before he leaves for battle, he bestows upon her a precious gift: freedom.
Now an escaped “enemy woman,” Adair must make her harrowing way south buoyed by a promise… seeking a home and a family that may be nothing more than a memory.
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Good read! I am interested in the time in American she writes about–Civil War period, and she is a great storyteller. I identified with her characters and loved them. I was sorry to see the story end.
I’ve loved everything I read by Paulette Jiles.
In the 1860s, the civil tore America apart, and it was undoubtedly a horrible and dangerous time to be alive in southeastern Missouri—or any of the southern states. As you follow the journey of Adair Colley, a young woman who loses everything while trying to survive, Paulette Jiles gives an account of the civil war that depicts all the cruelty and …
Enjoyed this book so much. Also learned a lot of history.
Accused of being a Confederate spy, Adair is imprisoned. She escasspes and makes a harrowing journey. This is another of Jiles’ wonderful historical ficitons–an intersting narrative, that’s for cerrtain. Adair is a strong character and one you’ll love following throughout the story.
Wonderful Tory by Paulette Gille. Anything she’ write is worth reading.
So very graphic and realistic about a time in history in Missouri. It was a tale that explained a tragic and passionate issue during the Civil War.
Terrific story about a tragic chapter in our nation’s history.
The story line was interesting but I feel the character development was lacking.
Released in 2002, “Enemy Women” written by Paulette Jiles brilliantly infuses fictional characters into real life events to paint a picture of the cruelty of war in the Southeast Missouri Ozark Mountains. Arson, theft, imprisonment and murder were all tactics used by the Union militia to weed out Southern sympathies and neutrality during the Civil …
Enemy Women is an historical-fiction novel based in the Southeast Missouri Ozark Mountains during the Civil War. Fictional characters relive real events that detail the dangers of civilian life during the war in which one false allegation could cost a citizen their home, their freedom and in many cases, their life. Enemy Women inspired me to write …
A good read
I read this some years ago. It is set in Southeast Missouri during the Civil War. I grew up in this part of the country so I especially enjoyed it. An excellent book with a unique take on the war.
The Civil War in Missouri as it involved the women who supported their “rebel” men and were imprisoned. Sad but a part of the history i’d never heard.
Anything by this author is a masterpiece.
Gave me a new perspective on the civil war.
Good background research, about Missouri in the Civil War.
There has been a lot written about the Civil War, but this book was about the citizens surviving the effects of war in their territory and towns. The women, children, and older citizens. I found it informative and haunting.
Liked it very much.
Difficult Civil War story, worth every minute, very satisfying