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A Novel
In this Civil War love story, inspired by a real-life friendship across enemy lines, the wife of a missing Confederate soldier discovers a wounded Yankee officer and must decide what she's willing to risk for the life of a stranger, from the New York Times bestselling author of such acclaimed historical fiction as Hour of the Witch and The Sandcastle Girls.
Virginia, 1864—Libby Steadman's husband has been away for so long that she can barely conjure his voice in her dreams. While she longs for him in the night, fearing him dead in a Union prison camp, her days are spent running a gristmill with her teenage niece, a hired hand, and his wife, all the grain they can produce requisitioned by the Confederate Army. It's an uneasy life in the Shenandoah Valley, the territory frequently changing hands, control swinging back and forth like a pendulum between North and South, and Libby awakens every morning expecting to see her land a battlefield.
And then she finds a gravely injured Union officer left for dead in a neighbor's house, the bones of his hand and leg shattered. Captain Jonathan Weybridge of the Vermont Brigade is her enemy—but he's also a human being, and Libby must make a terrible decision: Does she leave him to die alone? Or does she risk treason and try to nurse him back to health? And if she succeeds, does she try to secretly bring him across Union lines, where she might negotiate a trade for news of her own husband?
A vivid and sweeping story of two people navigating the boundaries of love and humanity in a landscape of brutal violence, The Jackal's Mistress is a heart-stopping new novel, based on a largely unknown piece of American history, from one of our greatest storytellers.
Upcoming author interviews
I'm very excited to announce that we have two authors that will be joining BookBrowsers for Q & A sessions in the next few weeks: https://www.bookbrowse.com/biographies/index.cfm/author_number/183/chris-bohjalian Chris Bohjalian , author of many bestsellers including The Jackal's Mistress - April...
-kim.kovacs
Weybridge tries to help Jubilee understand the abolitionist cause, while later, Joseph gives Weybridge a grim dose of reality about what life will be like after the war. What perpetuated the system that kept Joseph and Sally from being truly free?
Greed by southern slave holders and the belief that Black people were not fully human
-Tami_H
When did you discover the novel is based on a true story? Did it change your opinion of the work, or how you approached it? What did you think of the points at which the author deviated from history?
I do not know when I discovered this book was based on a historic event, but that caused me to research the event and to do some reading about the actual event, and even to read about the civil war itself in a History of the United States by Jill Lemore.
-Tami_H
Overall, what did you think of The Jackal’s Mistress? (no spoilers, please!)
I really appreciated how this book showed the devastating affects of war on everyone - not just soldiers. While the Civil War was justified by the South's attempts to leave the union over the right to own people, the affects on both sides in this war were horrifying. War is used to justify terrib...
-Tami_H
If you’ve read other books by this author, how do they compare to this one? How, in your opinion, does his writing bring to life the intersection of chance and choice?
I believe I have read every book by Chris Bohjalian. I would put this one up there with the best. I am always impressed by the author writing so well about women.
-Tami_H
Why do you think Dr. Norton was willing to treat Weybridge? Do you think his motivation was from self-interest or was there more to it?
Wholeheartedly agree. I was actually surprised that he "managed" to keep the secret.
-Dianne_F
What surprising details did you learn? What family stories of war and survival have been passed down to you? How do those lives and stories compare with the ones in the novel? In what ways can fiction sometimes reveal the truth more fully than nonfiction?
My family history of war goes all the way back to the Revolutionary War. I have relatives who fought in every war since then except for the Korean War. My grandfather, a WW1 veteran talked at great length about his experiences as well as my father who was a WW2 veteran. Only those family members ...
-Dianne_F
Is there a quote or scene in The Jackal’s Mistress that stood out for you? Why do you suppose it resonated?
I really liked the quote from Johnathan when he is feeling the anticipations of violence "Or maybe it was just the fact that man was a monster. Perhaps God, whatever or whomever he was, had not created us in his image, but instead saw us more like the minotaur, part man and part bull, or the anim...
-Jo_S
What audience would you recommend The Jackal’s Mistress to? Is there another book or author you feel has a similar theme or style?
I would recommend this book to those who enjoy historical fiction especially with strong female characters who are dealing with complex issues and feelings about right and wrong. Other books suggestions that may be similar would be the House Girl by Tara Conklin and The invention of wings by Sue ...
-Jo_S
Weybridge writes cheerful letters home to his wife because “he saw no reason to share the brutality and the toll it was taking on him.” Do you think he was right to conceal the truth? What would you have done in his place?
Well, I would want to know it all! I can see why he thought he was sparing her and I do not really know his wife's nature but I would have wanted to know the truth no mater the grimness. When you love someone you want to be there 100% for them and you can't do that on half truths.
-Jo_S
Libby, Emily, and Jubilee all have to endure months of not knowing the fates of their loved ones who are at war. In their situation, is hope a positive force, or is it a liability?
Hope is what fuels survival so no not a lability but a positive influence for all they endured while not knowing their loved ones fate
-Jo_S
Who are the Henry Morgans and John Mosbys of the modern world, waging brutality under the guise of civility?
Unfortunately, I agree with all of the above! The President has made it ok for many people to show their feelings of racism and desire for an all white nation. Very scary to think how things will look during these 4 years and I truly feel for minorities and anyone on the fringe. It is a time for ...
-Becky_S
Ultimately, what do you think Libby’s real motivation was in protecting Weybridge? Would you have been willing to take that risk for a stranger?
I agree with the majority on this…I felt her first motivation was just to do a good things, but later felt he could be a bargaining chip for her husband, and then when she began to have feelings for him, wanted to keep him alive due to her love.
-Becky_S
What did you think of Weybridge’s soldiers leaving him to die? Were they right to do so under the circumstances? What decision would you have made, do you think?
I think that for that time period, it was probably a very accurate account of what would have happened…it may seem heartless to us, but in times of war, the soldiers had to think of the good of all and not get caught up in saving each individual. Im not sure what decision I would have made… it wo...
-Becky_S
Jubilee calls Weybridge “Jackal” because she is wary of the enemy’s cunning ways. How does their relationship reflect the precarious balance of trust that teeters on other aspects of the storyline, on land where dominance and control kept changing hands?
Throughout the story, all the characters are in precarious positions. There is a need to trust each other even though there is a possibility of danger since the "other" is an enemy in some way or other. I loved Julbilee's courage to speak out to Weybridge while also being cautious because he was ...
-Wendy_F
In the opening, Libby and Joseph survive in part because the intruder underestimates them. In the many daring encounters they experience together, how do they turn their vulnerable identities into an advantage? How do they disguise their strength?
They assume the roles that society has assigned to them, for the most part. Joseph shows deference to the white interlopers who threaten them, remaining in the role/place to which they have constrained him. It is difficult to read about the way they seek to rob him of his dignity and inherent wor...
-Janie-Hickok-Siess
As you read the epilogue, how did you react? What was erased in the aftermath of the Civil War? What persisted?
I was not surprised that Libby had a child or that Peter believed, supposedly, that the child was his. I was also not surprised that Jubilee remained with them and her father was killed, nor that Jubilee, then 80 years old, had such a strong reaction to the "Last Review." I have heard about those...
-Janie-Hickok-Siess
How do Sally and Joseph endure the traumas of their past, and the constant threats they face throughout the novel? What do you think sustains their devotion to each other?
Joseph and Sally were happy to be free, but their freedom wasn't complete. Certainly, their circumstances with Libby were far better than they had been with Peter's father. But they carried the memories of having been enslaved and were determined never to be enslaved again. They lived in constant...
-Janie-Hickok-Siess
Libby excels in the men’s world—from running the mill and defending her loved ones to negotiating with Union troops. As a newcomer and an interloper, what made her a good match for her husband, Peter?
Peter rejected his family's traditions, freeing all those who were enslaved on his family's plantation. Libby, like her husband, was an abolitionist, and held her beliefs despite disparagement and ostracism from the community. They worked side by side on their land and truly loved & respected eac...
-Janie-Hickok-Siess
How do you feel literature prepares Weybridge for the horrors and contradictions he would witness as a soldier? How did he maintain stamina in both mind and body, in your opinion?
Jonathan was a scholar and saw the parallels between great literature (some based in reality) and the war. He was motivated to survive by many factors, not the least of which was his marriage and children. He wanted desperately to return home and, along with his wife, Emily, raise their two sons....
-Janie-Hickok-Siess
What transformations does Libby undergo during the final showdown in chapter 23? What does the scene reveal about her essence, and the essence of the community she married into?
In my opinion, Libby goes through a transformation prior to chapter 23. That chapter illustrates the fruit of that transformation. Earlier, she decides she has had enough and is not going to run, at which point they devise a strategy (that doesn't actually work). But she is determined to stand he...
-Janie-Hickok-Siess
About the The Jackal's Mistress category
Please join BookBrowse in our book club discussion of The Jackal's Mistress by Chris Bohjalian.
-system
"A compelling story about two people who long for their spouses in a time of war." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"This page-turner from bestselling Bohjalian…will not disappoint fans of American Civil War narratives. The vividly drawn characters and historical details make for a compelling read." —Library Journal (starred review)
"Bohjalian skillfully rachets up the tension as rumors spread of a Union officer on the loose and Libby and the captain grow close. Readers will be glued to the page." —Publishers Weekly
This information about The Jackal's Mistress was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Chris Bohjalian is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-three books, including Hour of the Witch, The Red Lotus, Midwives, and The Flight Attendant, was the basis for the hit HBO Max television series starring Kaley Cuoco. His other books include The Guest Room; Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands; The Sandcastle Girls; Skeletons at the Feast; and The Double Bind. His novels Secrets of Eden, Midwives, and Past the Bleachers were made into movies, and his work has been translated into more than thirty-five languages. He is also a playwright (Wingspan and Midwives). He lives in Vermont.
Author Interview
Link to Chris Bohjalian's Website
Name Pronunciation
Chris Bohjalian: boh-ZHAHL-ee-yen
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