Lucy Breckinridge of Grove Hill: The Journal of a Virginia Girl, 1862-1864University of South Carolina Press, 1994 - 245 pages The Civil War memoirs of a high-spirited, progressive woman Begun to alleviate the "boredom of wartime," Lucy Breckinridge's journal quickly became this intelligent young woman's confidante as she came of age in war-torn Virginia. Nineteen-year-old Breckinridge offers candid views of life on the homefront as she chronicles the war that killed three of her brothers and debates such universal issues as war, peace, religion, love, marriage, and the role of women in society. While Breckinridge vents frustration over the passive role forced upon women during the Civil War, she writes enthusiastically about social events, friends, and suitors. In her passionate and sometimes irreverent style, Breckinridge offers an honest portrait of life on the family plantation. |