Judith’s review of Gideon
Throughout my reading “career” and my love affair with books, I have to admit that the American historical romance didn’t rank very high. Back in the 70’s I encountered a wonderful series of novels that spanned the entire history of America’s beginnings by John Jakes, and that got me started. Then about 18 months ago I first read work by Beth Williamson and decided that American historical romances had far more going for them than I first realized. I actually “inhaled” the first four books in this series and was delighted when this fifth book appeared recently.
Perhaps the winning factor in these five books is that Ms Williamson has concentrated her stories during the years immediately following the Civil War, a time that many contemporary readers have little knowledge of and which has really been sort of passed over even in history studies. It was a hard and dark time in our nation’s history; it was a time when families were destroyed because of divided loyalties, homes and farms and factories were destroyed and there really was no work; a time when the nation paid dearly for the damage done to the soldiers who did survive, not an easy task during that particular war where over half a million Americans died on our own soil. Out of this millieu has come these five men, soldiers of the Confederacy who, when they finally got home, found that their homes and families had been destroyed by Sherman’s March and there was nothing left for them. Banding together as they had done throughout the War, they styled themselves “Devils on Horseback” with the goal of becoming mercenaries to local law enforcement in the Western territories, most specifically Texas.
Four of the Devils have now found their spouses, some have children, but all have gone down the road of domestic bliss. Not Gideon. Somehow he has held himself aloof from the rituals of courtship and marriage, finding female companionship briefly as needed, but concentrating on his business and helping his friends. He is a man of honor and caring, but he isn’t really in the market for a bride. And so he runs, hard and fast, as quickly as his horse can carry him, out of the town and down the road to spend some time with one of the other Devils, Nate. Little did he realize that the Fates had stationed Chloe Ruskin right smack dab in his path and he was about to go on an adventure the like of which he had not encountered for some years.
Gideon is a really nice guy! But he stands out like a sore thumb in many old Western settings because of his rather elite upbringing and education, and his aristocratic bearing and manner, and his way of dealing with people that is left over from the five years in command as a Confederate Army captain. All these qualities don’t help him at all in the estimation of Chloe, the daughter of a Virginia dirt farmer, a woman with little formal education, but one whose love for her family supercedes all else. Her suspicion about the true nature of men in general certainly doesn’t help Gideon at all, as his qualities as a person, his way of addressing her and dealing with her confirm that she is a “low life” in his opinion. Yet they are thrown together through a set of circumstances that force each to become aware of the deeper qualities and true humanism in the other. Their situation plays out like a series of “MacGiver” episodes or, if you prefer, a Greek Tragedy. Yet through it all is Chloe’s determination to do right by her family even if it costs her own life, and no matter how frustrated and irritated Gideon may be, he remains true to his upbringing as a Southern gentleman.
This is really a story about the meeting of two cultures, of how two individuals who seemingly have nothing in common are bound to one another by a common goal to survive and to insure the survival of Chloe’s family. In that process both Gideon and Chloe are forced to change, and the surprises that pop up throughout the story keep the reader’s interest engaged and the ending was, at least for me, a shock. Yet all goes to demonstrate the sterling quality and inner strength that Chloe possesses, and how even though Gideon is well and truly sidetracked from his original destination, his sense of honor and need to be who he was pointed him in a different direction when it was all done.
Lovers of Beth Williamson’s stories will like this book and those who enjoy American historical romances will find this a first-rate addition to their libraries. Williamson brings a wealth of writing experience to this task, and she always encapsulates her stories in superior research and knowledge of the historical time-frame. I appreciate the fact that even the editing of the narrative is superior to many books I have encountered recently. Most of all, I like books that not only entertain and, in the case of romance fiction, massage the libido, there is also an educational quality to historical novels that make them a favorite form of reading. You can’t find one any better than this. If the reader is willing to encounter characters that don’t necessarily fit “the mold” then you will like Gideon and Chloe and the cast of characters that surround them.
I give this novel a 5 out of 5 rating.
You can read more from Judith at Dr. J’s Book Place.
This book is available from Samhain Publishing. You can buy it here
I wanted to say thank you for reading GIDEON and for the review. I’m touched by your thoughts and they really made me feel wonderful and humble. Now I’m pumped up and ready to go write another book! 🙂