I Shall be Near to You by Erin Lindsay McCabe

If you don't like this book, you don't like to read.' - Pat Conroy, New York Times Bestselling author of The Prince of Tides and The Death of Santini 'Erin Lindsay McCabe has given us an unforgettable tale of the power of love and commitment over war and all that comes with it. Rosetta is a magnificent creation and lets us know that the people of the North had the same attachment to their land as any Southerner ever did. Her heroine, Rosetta Wakefield, is as compelling a warrior as any that appears in Michael Shaara's great novel about Gettysburg, The Killer Angels. Her novel, I Shall Be Near to You, tells a passionate love story that moved me as much as I've been moved in years. In the long, distinguished history of Civil War fiction, Erin Lindsay McCabe has presented us a book that might be for the ages. Inspired by more than 250 documented accounts of the women who fought in the Civil War while disguised as men, I Shall Be Near To You is the intimate story, in Rosetta's powerful and gorgeous voice, of the drama of marriage, one woman's amazing exploits, and the tender love story that can unfold when two partners face life's challenges side by side. Rosetta's strong will clashes with Jeremiah's while their marriage is tested by broken conventions, constant danger, and war, and she fears discovery of her secret even as they fight for their future, and for their lives. She drills with the men, proves she can be as good a soldier as anyone, and deals with the tension as her husband comes to grips with having a fighting wife. With the army desperate for recruits, Rosetta has no trouble volunteering, although she faces an incredulous husband. But Rosetta decides her true place is with Jeremiah, no matter what that means, and to be with him she cuts off her hair, hems an old pair of his pants, and signs up as a Union soldier.

Though she's always worked by her father's side as the son he never had, now that Rosetta is a wife she's told her place is inside with the other women. Rosetta doesn't want her new husband Jeremiah to enlist, but he joins up, hoping to make enough money that they'll be able to afford their own farm someday.

An extraordinary novel about a strong-willed woman who disguises herself as a man in order to fight beside her husband, inspired by the letters of a remarkable female soldier who fought in the Civil War.

I Shall be Near to You by Erin Lindsay McCabe