Blood and Irony

Southern White Women's Narratives of the Civil War, 1861-1937

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Women Authors, Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States, Civil War Period (1850-1877)
Cover of the book Blood and Irony by Sarah E. Gardner, The University of North Carolina Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Sarah E. Gardner ISBN: 9780807861561
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press Publication: July 21, 2004
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press Language: English
Author: Sarah E. Gardner
ISBN: 9780807861561
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Publication: July 21, 2004
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Language: English

During the Civil War, its devastating aftermath, and the decades following, many southern white women turned to writing as a way to make sense of their experiences. Combining varied historical and literary sources, Sarah Gardner argues that women served as guardians of the collective memory of the war and helped define and reshape southern identity.

Gardner considers such well-known authors as Caroline Gordon, Ellen Glasgow, and Margaret Mitchell and also recovers works by lesser-known writers such as Mary Ann Cruse, Mary Noailles Murfree, and Varina Davis. In fiction, biographies, private papers, educational texts, historical writings, and through the work of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, southern white women sought to tell and preserve what they considered to be the truth about the war. But this truth varied according to historical circumstance and the course of the conflict. Only in the aftermath of defeat did a more unified vision of the southern cause emerge. Yet Gardner reveals the existence of a strong community of Confederate women who were conscious of their shared effort to define a new and compelling vision of the southern war experience.

In demonstrating the influence of this vision, Gardner highlights the role of the written word in defining a new cultural identity for the postbellum South.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

During the Civil War, its devastating aftermath, and the decades following, many southern white women turned to writing as a way to make sense of their experiences. Combining varied historical and literary sources, Sarah Gardner argues that women served as guardians of the collective memory of the war and helped define and reshape southern identity.

Gardner considers such well-known authors as Caroline Gordon, Ellen Glasgow, and Margaret Mitchell and also recovers works by lesser-known writers such as Mary Ann Cruse, Mary Noailles Murfree, and Varina Davis. In fiction, biographies, private papers, educational texts, historical writings, and through the work of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, southern white women sought to tell and preserve what they considered to be the truth about the war. But this truth varied according to historical circumstance and the course of the conflict. Only in the aftermath of defeat did a more unified vision of the southern cause emerge. Yet Gardner reveals the existence of a strong community of Confederate women who were conscious of their shared effort to define a new and compelling vision of the southern war experience.

In demonstrating the influence of this vision, Gardner highlights the role of the written word in defining a new cultural identity for the postbellum South.

More books from The University of North Carolina Press

Cover of the book The Look of Things by Sarah E. Gardner
Cover of the book Old and Sick in America by Sarah E. Gardner
Cover of the book The Southern Diaspora by Sarah E. Gardner
Cover of the book The Claims of Kinfolk by Sarah E. Gardner
Cover of the book The Rise and Fall of the Branchhead Boys by Sarah E. Gardner
Cover of the book Defending White Democracy by Sarah E. Gardner
Cover of the book Behind the Backlash by Sarah E. Gardner
Cover of the book Sensational Modernism by Sarah E. Gardner
Cover of the book Roman Imperial Policy from Julian to Theodosius by Sarah E. Gardner
Cover of the book The Formation of Candomblé by Sarah E. Gardner
Cover of the book Home Grown by Sarah E. Gardner
Cover of the book Turing's Man by Sarah E. Gardner
Cover of the book The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture by Sarah E. Gardner
Cover of the book "Country Music is Wherever the Soul of a Country Music Fan Is": Opryland U.S.A. and the Importance of Home in Country Music by Sarah E. Gardner
Cover of the book The Rebuke of History by Sarah E. Gardner
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy