When the Jessamine Grows: A Captivating Historical Novel Perfect for Book Clubs
From the author of The Saints of Swallow Hill, an evocative, morally complex novel set in rural 19th century North Carolina, as one woman fights to keep her family united, her farm running, and her convictions whole during the most devastating and divisive period in American history, perfect for readers of Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier and Enemy Women by Paulette Jiles.
Talk of impending war is a steady drumbeat throughout North Carolina, though Joetta McBride pays it little heed. She and her husband, Ennis, have built a modest but happy life for themselves, raising two sons, fifteen-year-old Henry, and eleven-year-old Robert, on their small subsistence farm. They do not support the Confederacy’s position on slavery, but Joetta considers her family to be neutral, believing this is simply not their fight.
Her opinion is not favored by many in their community, including Joetta’s own father-in-law, Rudean. A staunch Confederate supporter, he fills his grandsons’ heads with stories about the glory of battle and the Southern cause until one night Henry runs off to join the war. At Joetta’s frantic insistence, Ennis leaves to find their son and bring him home.
But soon weeks pass with no word from father or son and Joetta is battered by the strain of running a farm with so little help. As the country becomes further entangled in the ramifications of war, Joetta finds herself increasingly at odds with those around her – until one act of kindness brings her family to the edge of even greater disaster.
Though shunned and struggling to survive, Joetta remains committed to her principles, and to her belief that her family will survive. But the greatest tests are still to come – for a fractured nation, for Joetta, and for those she loves . . .
From the Publisher
Publisher : Kensington
Publication date : January 23, 2024
Language : English
Print length : 400 pages
ISBN-10 : 149674070X
ISBN-13 : 978-1496740700
Item Weight : 12.6 ounces
Dimensions : 5.43 x 1.02 x 8.23 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #10,341 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #18 in Southern Fiction #94 in Family Life Fiction (Books)
Customer Reviews: 4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars (7,600) var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
Original price was: $18.95.$9.96Current price is: $9.96.
From the author of The Saints of Swallow Hill, an evocative, morally complex novel set in rural 19th century North Carolina, as one woman fights to keep her family united, her farm running, and her convictions whole during the most devastating and divisive period in American history, perfect for readers of Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier and Enemy Women by Paulette Jiles.
Talk of impending war is a steady drumbeat throughout North Carolina, though Joetta McBride pays it little heed. She and her husband, Ennis, have built a modest but happy life for themselves, raising two sons, fifteen-year-old Henry, and eleven-year-old Robert, on their small subsistence farm. They do not support the Confederacy’s position on slavery, but Joetta considers her family to be neutral, believing this is simply not their fight.
Her opinion is not favored by many in their community, including Joetta’s own father-in-law, Rudean. A staunch Confederate supporter, he fills his grandsons’ heads with stories about the glory of battle and the Southern cause until one night Henry runs off to join the war. At Joetta’s frantic insistence, Ennis leaves to find their son and bring him home.
But soon weeks pass with no word from father or son and Joetta is battered by the strain of running a farm with so little help. As the country becomes further entangled in the ramifications of war, Joetta finds herself increasingly at odds with those around her – until one act of kindness brings her family to the edge of even greater disaster.
Though shunned and struggling to survive, Joetta remains committed to her principles, and to her belief that her family will survive. But the greatest tests are still to come – for a fractured nation, for Joetta, and for those she loves . . .
From the Publisher
Publisher : Kensington
Publication date : January 23, 2024
Language : English
Print length : 400 pages
ISBN-10 : 149674070X
ISBN-13 : 978-1496740700
Item Weight : 12.6 ounces
Dimensions : 5.43 x 1.02 x 8.23 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #10,341 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #18 in Southern Fiction #94 in Family Life Fiction (Books)
Customer Reviews: 4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars (7,600) var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
9 reviews for When the Jessamine Grows: A Captivating Historical Novel Perfect for Book Clubs
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Original price was: $18.95.$9.96Current price is: $9.96.
WriteNow –
Being Neutral Can Be Fatal
This book spans the lead up to the Civil War in America to the eventual end of the war. The female protagonist is Joetta. She lives on a small farm in North Carolina with her family, which consists of a loving husband, two sons and an irascible, gimpy Father-in-law. The father-in-law is a verbose supporter of the Confederate cause. Joetta and her husband have chosen to remain neutral, but her eldest son is enthralled by the tales of the glorious war that his grandfather spins every night. The son runs away and joins the Confederacy. Joetta begs her husband to go get him and bring him back, which he eventually does. He’s waited so long that the boy has already joined the Confederacy and has marched off to battle. The father is forced to join the Confederacy in order to find the boy. This leaves Joetta in charge of all the physical work of the farm animals, the crops and the house. She is barely making it. Her younger son tries to help but eventually goes to live with a neighbor who is pro Confederacy. Joetta is stuck alone with her Father-in-law, but she remains resolutely neutral. Her neutrality, and it nearly costs her her life. The story is unique in that it focuses on the pressures on those who remain neutral when everyone else has chosen the Confederacy. The characters are compelling and it is a great read. My ONLY problem is that the title. The plant, Jessamine, is not even mentioned until page 310, and is not mentioned again until page 368. The novel has 371 pages. A more relevant title would inspire more people to buy the book. It is a story that should be read.
Mar –
Excellent Historical Drama Book
Good historical drama about the early days of the civil war and those who did not take sides….how they were shunned and intimidated in their communities.
Placeholder –
Historical Fiction
Historical fiction is an excellent genre to read. This story, and most like this one, give you an insight into the sense of how people may have lived during historical events like war, the Great Depression, the Holocaust, etc. It is not biographical, yet is based on fact. With this well written story, the reader gets to know different families, class structures, the goodness of people and the greed of many others who are fighting their own wars amongst themselves, while the Civil War tears the country apart. I enjoyed this read very much!
Carol C. Stark –
Southern Great Depression book
Great books
Ann R. –
love the well written descriptions
Held my interest. Some ups and many downs. Story of a brave woman who never gave up her beliefs .
Amazon Customer –
The South was misrepresented
The book should be shortened by at least 100 pages. The pace was slow, prolonged. Also, all southerners weren’t bad. The only characters with redeeming traits were either neutral or for the Union. Most who fought for the South did not own slaves, they were thrust into the Civil War by sense of duty to protect the homeland and states rights
C. Wong –
A Woman Standing Up For What She Believes!
This is agreat book on the sorrow, grief and standing up for what you believe in. Ennis and Joetta McBride had a small farm in North Carolina. She didn’t want to lose her sons fighting for the slave owning rights of the rich plantation slave owners. Her father-in-law, a firm supporter of the Confederacy, filled her sons with stories of glory and was sure that the only way to be successful was to own a lot of slaves.Despite her and her husband’s efforts to keep quite about the glories of war, her father-in-law continued and one day her oldest son, only fifteen left to join up. After he didn’t come back, she said she was going after him to find and bring him back. Ennis, upset, decided to do it himself. Her husband did not comeback.She has joined the sewing group for making socks for the Confederacy and did not feel welcome because she did not agree to war and wanted to neutral. Later, she was asked for her sake and the sewing group to not continue to attend their meeting.A terrible payback for her stance came. Yet she endured and with fierce determination, she worked help her remaining family to survive.Instead of learning about the battles of the Civil War, you learn about the devastation that remaining families faced and the shunning of general community.I really appreciate the insight the author put inis book so now I am a fan want to read more of her books.
Kindle Customer. Shirley Speere. –
When the Jessamine Grows
A captivating historical novel, was an awesome book to read on the States war in NC, near where my sister lived, I have been back to visit her many times and loved visiting this areas. Many story’s told by family members that lived threw this war.One of the best books written about this war.How they lived threw this on losing most everything , barely any food to eat and crops destroyed , their homes being burned down , the soldiers stealing their food and animals , left them with nothing to eat, neighbors turning against each other.Family’s being killed , and after all this the return of soldiers in rags and missing arm n legs and the house burnt down , to find a Jessamine vine resprouting threw the burnt ground gave this womenFeeling to resprout in her own life,And start all over to find a better life, I wish there was a continuing story , to find out if they ever found her son, that was missing ?Awesome read , a must read !
Esme –
The story of the civil war in a rural farming community in South Carolina was an interesting backdrop to this human story of hardship and survival. I found the first half really interesting and the second half less so. It dragged on without much plot. I like the author and enjoyed this book well enough.