Sooner or later, history asks, which side were you on?
In his powerful new novel, Charles Frazier returns to the time and place of Cold Mountain, vividly bringing to life the chaos and devastation of the Civil War
Her marriage prospects limited, teenage Varina Howell agrees to wed the much-older widower Jefferson Davis, with whom she expects the secure life of a Mississippi landowner. Davis … whom she expects the secure life of a Mississippi landowner. Davis instead pursues a career in politics and is eventually appointed president of the Confederacy, placing Varina at the white-hot center of one of the darkest moments in American history—culpable regardless of her intentions.
The Confederacy falling, her marriage in tatters, and the country divided, Varina and her children escape Richmond and travel south on their own, now fugitives with “bounties on their heads, an entire nation in pursuit.”
Intimate in its detailed observations of one woman’s tragic life and epic in its scope and power, Varina is a novel of an American war and its aftermath. Ultimately, the book is a portrait of a woman who comes to realize that complicity carries consequences.
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Learning so much about an era and the personalities that shaped history. Frazier is a master storyteller.
I love well-researched historical fiction. This book imagines the alternating narratives of Jefferson Davis’s wife and an adult Black man who was taken into the family during and after the Civil War. One memorable chapter includes their experience with a white family heavily armed who alternately had to stave off being ravaged by each side of Confederate and Northern soldiers attempting to take all of their food. Frazier creates such a powerful character in Varina, portraying a woman of strength and personal morals very different from the male-dominated racism surrounding her.
I enjoy historical fiction and thought I’d love this book about a woman I knew nothing about. But the disjointed style put me off. I had trouble understanding what was happening and where the book was going, and gave uop after a few chapters.
There is so much we didn’t learn in school! This book is based on the real wife of Jefferson Davis (President of the Confederacy) and much of the action takes place right after the Civil War.
Wonderful, historic depiction. Loved it.
I loved this book. Mostly because the characters were real people, about a period of history I knew next to nothing about and Frazier’s writing is so beautiful. The story itself was a little disjointed and didn’t flow. It was a book of little stories. In spite of this I enjoyed reading it and would highly recommend it for people who love intelligent writing and great prose.
Full disclosure…..I am a “Damn Yankee”. I don’t get called that much anymore but I heard it a lot in the first few years I moved to Virginia. It never hurt my feelings, if that was the intent. I am also an avid history buff. I watch the History Channels and the Smithsonian Channel. I also like to read historical fiction. I enjoyed Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain. I liked the play on Homer’s The Odyssey. When I saw that Frazier had a new book coming out called Varina I thought it might be about Varina, Virginia, a town outside of Richmond, so I pre-ordered it without reading the jacket. But that’s not at all what Varina is about. Shame on me, a fan of history, not familiar with Varina Davis, wife to Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy. I wondered why Frazier would pick Varina as the topic of his next book, was she controversial? Did she have differing views from her husband on the Civil War? I was intrigued. Before I go much further let me explain the spelling of her name is VARINA but it is pronounced with an E not an I sound. It is supposedly well known that the pronunciation of her name brought her great dissatisfaction and she would often times spell it out for people as: Vareeeeeeena…..
The book description is a bit deceiving as the story follows the conversations between Varina Davis and a man named James Brooks. James believes himself to be Jimmie Limber, one of the people mentioned in a book he had recently read. Jimmie Limber was an African American child who lived with the Davis family in Richmond, VA during the Civil War. As the story goes, Varina Davis saw Jimmie being beaten on the side of the rode by an African American woman. She stopped her carriage, ended the beating, and took Jimmie home with her. It is unclear what exactly the relationship was between Jimmie and the Davis’s but many accounts say that Jefferson Davis had Jimmie declared a freed slave, raised him with his own children, and after being separated after the war Jefferson never stopped looking for the boy. James Brooks has vague memories of his childhood and is hoping that Varina will be able to answer questions and fill in the blanks. The book follows a series of meetings between Varina and James.
Throughout the story you not only learn about James/Jimmie but you learn about Varina’s background, her upbringing, how she and Jefferson met, what their life was like before secession, and what their life was like after the Civil War ended. One of the reasons it takes me so long to read a historical fiction is due to all of the fact checking I do while I read. For example, Frazier mentioned that James Buchanan may have had a male companion named William King, who happened to have served as Vice President of the United States. I didn’t know anything about President Buchanan so I did a bunch of research and found him to actually be quite an interesting man with quite an interesting story. But in doing research you also discover discrepancies between Frazier’s stories and other stories regarding Varina Davis’s life. History being what it was during the 1800’s we may never know whole truths. Back then they didn’t have the internet, Facebook, or blogs to write down every little event that happened to a person that day. Unless you found a diary that the person left behind you may never truly understand what happened and even with a diary you are left with only that individual’s interpretation of the event.
One thing I did take away about Varina Davis was that if she was a woman in today’s world I think she would have been very vocal, very pro-woman’s rights, and probably very powerful. She was not a stupid woman. She had been educated and loved to read. She and I may have been kindred spirits in another life. There are some differing opinions on what she thought about slavery. There are conflicting comments made by her about a woman’s right to vote. I think she was very much a politicians wife and spoke to her audience. She told people what they wanted to hear.
The Davis family is buried at the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, VA. The cemetery is a bit of a tourist attraction and I have toured the cemetery twice. I will most likely go again in the near future to view the place that Varina has been laid to rest. If what Frazier wrote about Varina’s feelings and Richmond are true then I wonder if she can ever rest in eternal peace forever in a city she did not care to return to.
If you are interested in learning more about Varina Davis I highly recommend this UTube video:
Varina Davis, Southern Woman and Civil War
Cover Design – 4.0
All of Charles Frazier’s cover’s are works of art. Sometimes when I am driving around Virginia and the mist is settling over the landscape I am often reminded of his covers. It gives me a sense of peace.
Grammer – 4.5
Beautifully edited.
Plot – 4.0
I originally questioned this topic and this individual as the main character but what an interesting perspective on a piece of history that has been written so many times before. The division of our country from the perspective of a woman. A voice that had little to no platform in the 1800’s. I think you soon discover that she was a woman with her own thoughts and belief system. She didn’t care what society thought; she was going to do what she was going to do. A question that I have, and unless we discover hidden diaries or documentation we will never have the answer to (or maybe if we learn to time travel), how could the Davis family own people, it is well documented that Jefferson Davis felt that people could be possessions, and still they found a kindness in their hearts to save a boy being beaten on the side of the road. Jimmie Limber was no different than the slaves who worked the Davis plantation. I struggle with the thinking or logic behind the topic.
Believability – 4.0
It’s historical fiction so there are quite a large number of historical facts. With that being said I think Frazier had many different variations of history offered to him to use and he used those that best fit his story. Not everything in the book is true and not everything is necessarily accurate. Obviously the dialogue is fiction but the events are real.
Ending – 4.5
The book had closure. You know what her life was like at the end. You know where she ended up. I don’t feel a need for a second installation. I do feel a need to understand a woman’s perspective on the Civil War a little bit more.
Price Value – 4.0
I think the story was well written and well worth the price. I am all about the deal so doubt if you put this book on your wish list, in a couple of years the book with go on sale.
Overall – 4.5
I enjoyed parts of this story. No lie I struggled. Besides the huge amount of time I spent doing my own research it took longer than normal to read this book because I would get angry with a topic and have to put it down. I would recommend this book because I think it is delving into an area that is beginning to emerge which is all about women in general but southern women more specifically. In life we need to be pushed beyond what makes us comfortable and this book certainly did so for me.
It’s a well-written story about a historical figure who is not well known.
The reflections on the Civil War through the eyes of Varina, Jefferson Davis’ wife, brings out new perspectives and context that I had not considered before. The story-telling is excellent, and it’s a very worthwhile read.
Some beautiful writing, but very slow moving.
This is a great historical novel by a Master storyteller…would make a great film! All the characters are beautifully drawn. And, the narrative always holds the reader’s attention. Enjoy!
Charles Frasier is a very engaging writer who brings us a living breathing history. In this account of the first lady of the Confederacy, we find Varina or V as she is called throughout the book as a heroic figure who is only doing her best to promote her husband Jefferson Davis, the first and only president of the Confederacy. What I found to be the best part of the book was the intimate relationship she shared with her husband. From a period in time when fidelity, not love, was essential for a good marriage, I never once got the sense that either of them was in love with each other despite having several children. Another thing that Frasier is excellent at, is setting the historical context of the times taking us through several eras of her life.
This is the only book I’ve ever read about Varina Davis, wife of CSA President Jefferson Davis. She faced dangerous times and a very uncertain future on her own most of the time doing the best she could with few resources.
This historical novel brought to life the civil war, people who played key rolls in that time as well as the thinking and energy playing in that time. Several thoughts and passages are quite applicable to today. The study of history IS important to not repeating
I found this book hard to read and keep track of the characters
Reveals little known fact about Jefferson Davis’s wife, Varina.
Unknown history
somewhat boring in how it is presented. confusing. I just wanted to read about Varina Davis – knew nothing of her. I like history, American History and the civil War era. I am going to have to read another biography about her to really learn something after I finish this.
interesting –especially in terms of history surrounding Civil War.
Interesting historical novel.