Yankee in Atlanta (Heroines Behind the Lines)

By Jocelyn Green

Description:

When soldier Caitlin McKae woke up in Atlanta after being wounded in battle, the Georgian doctor who treated her believed Caitlin's only secret was that she had been fighting for the Confederacy disguised as a man. In order to avoid arrest or worse, Caitlin hides her true identity and makes a new life for herself in Atlanta.Trained as a teacher, she accepts a job as a governess to the daughter of Noah Becker, a German immigrant lawyer, who enlists with the Rebel army. Then in the spring of 1864, Sherman's troops edge closer to Atlanta. Though starvation rules, and Sherman rages, she will not run again. In a land shattered by strife and suffering, a Union veteran and a Rebel soldier test the limits of loyalty and discover the courage to survive. Will honor dictate that Caitlin and Noah follow the rules, or love demand that they break them?For more information on this series, visit HeroinesBehindtheLines.com.

Book Takeaway:

The universal themes of this novel are applicable to anyone: conflicting loyalties, divided families, and hearts refined by fire.

Why the author wrote this book:

I wrote Yankee in Atlanta to show another perspective on women in the Civil War. Caitlin was a former soldier, and she was also a secret Unionist in Atlanta. There were more than 400 women who fought in the war, in fact, and more than 100 Atlanta citizens who were secretly loyal to the Union. Yankee in Atlanta goes beyond the Gone with the Wind mythology to reveal another look at the Confederate home front.