Painted Trillium

Brandt’s engaging first novel follows the life of a young woman living in Murfreesboro, Tenn., during the Civil War. Carrie Blaylock, her mother, and her little sister live under Union occupation along with a former slave and her son. The army consumes everything, leaving the family teetering on the edge of starvation. Life is worse for the Blaylocks because Carrie’s fiancé and brother fought and died for the Confederacy, making the family traitors. Carrie’s loneliness and fear threaten to consume her until Capt. John Lockridge comes to investigate the theft of the family’s pigs by fellow Union soldiers. A deep friendship blooms, but Carrie resists her increasingly strong feelings for John. Not only is he an enemy solider, but she has decided to live a life independent of any man. Brandt explores the complexities of the Civil War, handling war, race, and gender with brutal honesty. Characters struggle to line up their political ideals, regardless of their views, with the reality of war and the human suffering of everyone involved. Brant has published several nonfiction books on Tennessee history and culture and uses that background to paint the essence and struggles of the men and women of the Civil War into a rich novel. (BookLife)