Just finished reading a borrowed copy of 'Come Spring'. Ordered a copy for myself (something I've never done before). When it arrives, will read it again (again, something I have never done before). Full of good story, history, and earthy philosophies. Ben Ames Williams has a way of putting it all together. It takes a few chapters to get into the mood of the book, but once there, watch out!

Come Spring is one of my all time favorite books. When I read this book (about every other year) it's as engrossing as the first time I read it. I can close my eyes and picture the wildllfe Williams decribes, I find myself trying to copy the accents of the characters and never fail, I end up reading late into the night "just one more chapter". For more information on this wonderful book, contact the Union Historical Society at 207-785-5444.

This is a wonderful historical novel, well worth reading and re-reading. It's full of romance and adventure, and readers will enjoy knowing that many descendants of the characters still live in the lovely town of Union. In fact, they can visit the Union Historical Society's website for more information about the town....

Every story in this collection is a gem that has been embedded in the pegmatite ledges of Maine until the publication of this book. Some of the stories are American classics, some are classics only here in Maine, and some have emerged from obscurity to grace the pages of this amazing book. No matter which way the story came to be in "The Best Maine Stories" they will be loved by all (not just those from Maine)! My favorite story: The Viking's Daughter.

I was given this book when I was a kid, some 45 years ago. It took me a month to read it, at 50 pages a night - it's 1,500 pages in the original hardcover - and I became totally lost in the story. I didn't want it to end because I felt like I knew all the people. It is infinitely better than Gone With the Wind; it's real. I re-read in a few years later; I've just glanced at it once in awhile since then, but it has a place of honor on our crowded book shelves. The South's cause was one of the worst ever: to maintain a society based on slavery. (To those who say that the war wasn't over slavery, let me state the obvious fact that if the South had not had slavery, secession would never have been an issue.) Nevertheless, Ben Ames Williams depicts the best of the Old South aristocracy in extremely human terms.

AS A TEENAGER IN HIGH SCHOOL I COULDN'T READ GONE WITH THE WIND ENOUGH TIMES. WHEN I DISCOVERD HOUSE DIVIDED, I WAS LIKE THAT TEENAGER IN HIGH SCHOOL DISCOVERING THE ANTEBELLUM SOUTH AND THE CIVIL WAR. IN MY OPINION, NO FICTIONAL ACCOUNT OF THE CIVIL WAR CAN COMPARE TO HOUSE DIVIDED. EVERY USED BOOK STORE I GO TO I LOOK FOR A COPY - SOME DAY I WILL OWN MY OWN.

House Divided by Ben Ames Williams is an excellent fictional account of the lives of ordinary people experiencing the ravages of the Civil War in America. This rivals Gone With the Wind in its scope and character development. Of special interest is references to actual locations in Richmond, Petersburg and Williamsburg, Virginia. I did not realize there had been an edition printed in the 1980's. I have read the 1930's edition twice and would love to have a copy of my own. I'd also love to see this story on the big screen!

This is the tale of the ultimate femme fatale. Meet Ellen. She is completely selfish and her only form of love is total posession. This book is the noirish tale of her marriage.

Richard Harland happens upon Ellen while riding a train and she seems just a little too perfect to be real. Ellen eventually marries him but her desperate posessiveness grows worse. She will stop and nothing, even murder, to see to it that Richard is hers alone.

The book gets into the heads of all the major characters and I was impressed at how well the author writes from the female viewpoint. While Ellen is quite insane, it is still clear what makes her tick.

This book has much to offer: romance, mysteries, drama and finally an intense courtroom scene. Highly enjoyable and has the true flavor of the 40s.

This book will draw you in from the first and will not relinquish its hold on you for a long time.

I read it while still a teenager, many years ago, and have never forgotten its story of possessive love (or obsession)and the tragedy of the tale. I, unfortunately, lost my copy and am now searching for another so that my 15 year old daughter might experience it.

The author is very adept at bringing life to the characters and the events that unfold around and because of them. I would recommend this book to anyone.

I started a book club a couple of years ago....the discussion on this book was one of the very best our group has ever had.

This is a story of a manipulative woman and the man she marries. It is intriguing how the man learns about the woman he married; the author writes in beautiful nuances. There also is a clever murder that occurs as well as a love story, and betrayal of love. All the components to make a great story.

This memoir is a wonderful panoramic view of America's most glorious tragedy, filled with romance, privation, luxury, and death. This chronicle is a window to a lost world, a world of private lives and great political movements.

Mrs. Chestnut provides us with the small details in the picaresque life of a general's wife. The frustration of a people's hope of self-determination is revealed, as is the revulsion of some Southerners to slavery and its attendant shame.

She shows us her neighbors' private and justified fear of murderous servants, the grand victories of the Confederate armies which mean nothing against an inexhaustible enemy, the intimate drawing room intrigues of upper class Southern debutantes among their friends and wounded heroes.

The traditional icons of Southern Gentility are shown to be less than uniformly admirable, though the perseverence and insight of this writer are heroic, and show the true character of the best of American womanhood.

Any serious student of the War Between the States who has not read this first-person account is not a serious student at all.

This narrative has the rare quality of allowing the reader to view the author's world through their glasses. The reader quickly slips into Mrs Chestnut's value system and truely appreciate the highs and lows of Confederate society, the wealth and hardship, privileges and privations of those who sat hearthside. Additionally, rare personal glimpses insights are provided on some of the movers and shakers of Confederate government, military and society. Such glimpes are delicious and slighly voyeuristic!
A great view, not by a driver in history, but one along for the ride.

I know this may sound crazy, but i am infact the great(times 3) granddaughter of mary boykin chestnut. When my grandfather told me this when i was younger (I am 16 now) I became very interested in learning about her and her husband and in trying to learn more i decided to read the diary in which mary had written. I found it very moving and in some cases disturbing. Before reading her diary ( My grandpap has one of the first copies of it) I could have cared less about the civil war or any war for that matter, but after reading it I gained a new found respect for everything that people in those days had to go through and I think that my grandmother gave people of today a great idea of what the war was like and how people were. I am very proud to say that I am of of the civil wars most influential women.