Wedded to War: A New Civil War Historical Novel
Love women's history? Fellow journalist and AMG author Jocelyn Green recently made the jump from writing nonfiction to novels. And in her debut novel, Wedded to War, she writes about women who served as nurses during the Civil War. Here’swhat she had to say about her new book and why she made the leap.
Why did you choose towrite fiction?
I still enjoy writing nonfiction, but I’m also convincedthat while some people are encouraged by devotions, other people glean truth andworldview from novels. I’ll never forget what one woman in a book club inAlaska told me. She said, “I’m forming my own theology based on the novels I’mreading.” I was horrified, because the novels we were reading in our book clubtogether did not represent biblical truth. But her statement is quite telling.Stories are powerful. Jesus used stories in the form of parables to teachtruth.
Tell us a little bitabout Wedded to War.
In April 1861, the Union Army’s Medical Department is adisaster, completely unprepared for the magnitude of war. A small group of NewYork City women, including 28-year-old Charlotte Waverly, decides to dosomething about it. Charlotte leaves a life of privilege to become one of the firstfemale nurses for the Union Army. She quickly discovers that she’s fightingmore than just the Rebellion by working in the hospitals. Corruption, harassment,and opposition from Northern doctors threaten to push her out of her new role.At the same time, her sweetheart disapproves of her newfound independence,forcing her to make an impossible decision: Will she choose love and marriage,or duty to a cause that seems to be losing?
What passion droveyou as you wrote your story?
The passion to tell the story of how hard women worked to beable to contribute to their country through nursing. The women who inspired mystory were refined ladies of leisure, and they gave up all their comforts toendure hardships and harassment as the first women nurses in our nation’shistory. They played a hugely significant role with the U.S. SanitaryCommission, forerunner of the American Red Cross. It’s time for their story tobe celebrated.From where do you getyour topic or story ideas?
My story ideas for the entire four-book series of HeroinesBehind the Lines came directly from the research I did for my newly releasednonfiction book, Stories of Faith andCourage from the Home Front (AMG Publishers). Each one of the four booksI’m writing focuses on a different aspect of the Civil War where womeninfluenced either the course of the war or the people who fought in the war. Wedded to War is about pioneer nurses. Mynext book, The Widow of Gettysburg,tells of the aftermath the civilian women dealt with in Gettysburg after thegreat battle of 1863.