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Book Review of Celia Garth

Celia Garth
Celia Garth
Author: Gwen Bristow
Book Type: Paperback
jjares avatar reviewed on + 3274 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1


This is a very powerful book about the Revolutionary War. The history was fascinating and thought-provoking. Reading about the atrocities (that took place during the war) was often very hard to do.

If you think about the Iraq War; we watched it on our TV's but were not very affected. During the late 1700's, everyone was touched by the conflict between the British and the fledgling country called America.

Before reading this, I thought there was little fighting south of Virginia during the Revolutionary War. It was staggering to see how citizens suffered and were nearly starved.

The heroine, Celia Garth, was a 20 year-old seamstress and orphan. Her family inheritance was frittered away by the family who took her in when Celia's parents died. Being a practical person, Celia realized that she did not want to be a poor relation' living through the largesse of a relative; she was apprenticed at a women's clothing store. After her year of training, she wanted to stay on as a seamstress at the dressmaker's shop.

However, when an opportunity presented itself, Celia jumped at the chance to be the dressmaker for an older, wealthy woman. At first, the war didn't seem to impact the citizens; they went about their regular business. Once the British captured Charleston and its port, life became harder for the Americans.

This book presents the adversities of life during a war in a very-readable style. Although the start was a bit slow, there were more than 100 pages that were absolutely nerve-wracking. Obviously, lives on the plantation vs. life in town were very different; the author makes a point of showing both aspects of life in America during the late 1700's.

This is my first time to read this story; it is a historical novel at its finest. This is one of those books that I will not forget soon. 4.5 stars