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485th out of 831 books
—
926 voters
Dunaway's Crossing
by
Nancy Brandon (Goodreads Author)
One Georgia town paralyzed by disease, Two women secluded in a remote cabin. Only one man stands between them and death. It's 1918 when newlywed Bea Dot Ferguson leaves her posh Savannah lifestyle to visit her pregnant cousin's home in rural Pineview, Georgia. Her purpose: to escape her abusive husband, who knows her shameful secret. Immediately, Bea Dot realizes she's tra...more
Paperback, First, 293 pages
Published
March 19th 2012
by Lloyd and Aspinwald
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Rural Georgia is one of my favourite settings for a book, and being that this story takes place in 1918 just added to its attraction. Through the talent of Ms. Brandon, I quickly became enamoured with the characters of Bea Dot (not Ben!), Netta and Ralph and couldn't put the book down as the story unwound. The facts were accurately depicted so that the reader felt as if they were a part of the goings-on as the dreadful flu epidemic hit with a vengeance and the lives of everyone were affected. A...more
I liked this book quite a bit. The settings of Savannah and central, rural Georgia rang true as did the relationships among the black and white people of the time. It was set in the waning year of WWI during a terrible influenza outbreak. The book centers around Beatrice Dorothy (Bea Dot) Ferguson, a beautiful woman from a monied family who mysteriously married an unattractive, brutish man quite rapidly. Her family knew that he was not a good choice but they did not realize the terrible extent o...more
This was a fantastic book! As a native of Savannah, I was curious to see what Nancy Brandon would write about. I was not disappointed at all.
The story is set in Georgia near the end of World War I and just before the influenza epidemic. Bea Dot is married to a violent man who causes the loss of her baby. At the doctor's recommendation, she travels to small town in middle Georgia to rest with her pregnant cousin. Once there the story unfolds as the influenza epidemic begins.
Brandon writing makes...more
The story is set in Georgia near the end of World War I and just before the influenza epidemic. Bea Dot is married to a violent man who causes the loss of her baby. At the doctor's recommendation, she travels to small town in middle Georgia to rest with her pregnant cousin. Once there the story unfolds as the influenza epidemic begins.
Brandon writing makes...more
I'm 6% in, her husband needs to die for what he did.
What I can tell, exceedingly well written and I'm enjoying this book thoroughly.
I'll update this later.
What I can tell, exceedingly well written and I'm enjoying this book thoroughly.
I'll update this later.
Jun 03, 2012
Deanna Sletten
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Historical Novel Readers
Beatrice Dorothy Ferguson (Bea Dot) is the victim of an abusive husband and harbors the secret of an abusive past which she does not want her family and friends to discover. The time period is 1918, the setting, Savannah and rural Georgia. WWI is nearing an end and a deadly influenza outbreak is terrorizing the country, killing people from all walks of life. Bea Dot leaves Savannah to visit her cousin who lives in a small town in rural Georgia. Her cousin, Nettie, is married to the town's doctor...more
Dunaway's Crossing takes place in 1918 - in Savannah and Pineview, Georgia. World War 1 is coming to an end and the influenza has wiped out many victims in Pineview. The town becomes overwhelmed with this deadly disease. The sick are dying so fast that they're unable to produce coffins fast enough so they pass a temporary ordinance to bury the deceased in mass graves.
Nancy Brandon is truly a gifted writer. She was able to capture the emotions of the intriguing characters --- you can feel their p...more
Nancy Brandon is truly a gifted writer. She was able to capture the emotions of the intriguing characters --- you can feel their p...more
This book takes place in between-the-World-Wars Georgia. The relationships between characters (particularly characters of different skin colors and different social classes) is well written, and characters develop well. The plot is only a little bit predictable, and the writing is mostly quite good. I didn't feel a particularly close relationship with any of these characters, and I didn't get that sad-to-be-finished feeling, but I confess I was grateful for how the ending turned out, though it w...more
I didn't expect to like this book, but did. In fact, I stayed up too late reading the night I started it, then finished it the next afternoon. Lots of historical detail, and an interesting look at the Spanish Influenza epidemic. Even the romantic element didn't throw me off. It's hard to believe that people suffered through the kind of nightmarish grief described in the book and just carried on, but that's what had to have happened, because what else could have happened?
From what I can tell, th...more
From what I can tell, th...more
I really liked this book and didn't actually expect to that much. The story takes place in rural Georgia in the flu epidemic of the early 1900s just as WWI is winding down. Our heroin Bea Dot (Beatrice Dorothy) is a newly married 19 year old and is being abused by her husband. She is invited to visit her pregnant cousin a small Georgia town under the auspices of helping her get ready for the new baby but it's truly an effort to save her from the abuse. While visiting she meets and begins to admi...more
This book was better than I anticipated. The story revolved around Bea Dot during the period as WWI was ending and a flu epidemic was hitting Savannah and other areas of Georgia. Bea Dot escaped one abusive relationship only to end up in a worse relationship. The story had some unexpected twists and the reader cannot help but pull for things to turn out okay for Bea Dot after all she has been through. Definitely an interesting read set during a time frame that I am not real familiar with. Anothe...more
Parts of this book were very good, and other parts made me uncomfortable. I don't like reading about rape and brutality to women, and this book starts out that way. It gets a lot better when Bea Dot moves to the country and endure life in the country with her cousin, Netta and they have to stay away from town due to the flu pandemic of 1918, also know as the Spanish flu that killed more people than WWI.
There's a great love story between Bea Dot and Will and that part was enjoyable to read.
The bo...more
There's a great love story between Bea Dot and Will and that part was enjoyable to read.
The bo...more
From the first page, Dunaway's Crossing captures the reader with its emotionally evocative plot, richly detailed rural Georgia (early 1900s) setting and the engaging multi-dimensional characters. The author deftly interweaves every detail of this poignant story. I was unable to put this amazing book down. Not only does it grip you while you are reading it but it stays with you afterwards.
Why no voting buttons? We don't let customers vote on their own reviews, so the voting buttons appear only wh...more
Why no voting buttons? We don't let customers vote on their own reviews, so the voting buttons appear only wh...more
The time period is 1918, Bea Dot leaves Savannah to visit her cousin who lives in a small town. Her cousin, Nettie, is married to the town's doctor. The town becomes overwhelmed with this the deadly influenza outbreak. The town becomes overwhelmed with this deadly disease. The sick are dying so fast that they're unable to make coffins fast enough so they pass a temporary ordinance to bury the deceased in mass graves. Secrets of Bea Dot's childhood and a domestic violence marriage. In the end tru...more
This was a gem. I had the leisure of a lovely summer day and damned if I didn't spend it all on this. Sure, I was outdoors throughout (note: this may be the first book I have ever read entirely outside), but I hope the time commitment alone compels some among you to request this title from your local library. Or, visit the author's site and get a copy for yourself. nancybrandon.com
Let me know if you saw the last line coming. I did not and was tickled to LOL upon reading it.
Super fun summer read...more
Let me know if you saw the last line coming. I did not and was tickled to LOL upon reading it.
Super fun summer read...more
Dunaway's Crossing takes place in Georgia during the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918-1919. Bea Dot (short for Beatrice Dorothy) is married to an abusive drunkard in Savannah. To get away from his beatings, Bea Dot goes to stay with her pregnant cousin in rural Georgia where she meets Will. Ms. Brandon's writing is colorful. However, I found the story to be predictable. I did, though, enjoy reading about the events from this time period.
Wonderful plot shows how one can lie, cheat and be deceitful and get away with it! Very interesting plot however towards the end of the book I would not recommended it due to language! It could have been a highly recommend read by me but due to language i will not recommend this book! Loved the twisted mind, well thought out plans she employed to deceive, ending cleverly written as well!
Super predictable, city girl meets country boy, city girl has abusive husband. It was just okay for me. I could have written the whole book almost verbatim based on the description alone. I also would classify this as a romance novel...and NOT historical fiction. Still, I had to keep going to the end, so 2 1/2 stars from me.
This book is essentially about domestic violence and a terrible outbreak of flu. While this does not seem like a great premise for an entertaining book the story is engaging and you end up caring about the characters. A reasonable use of an afternoon although somewhat forgetable.
Love, love this book. Again Goodreads needs to create a 1/2 star as I would rate this 4 1/2 stars.
Based in Savannah GA right as World War I was coming to a close and the outbreak of the Spanish Influenza was at its peak, it really gives the reader insight into that horrible epidemic that took more lives than World War I.
The heartbreak and the sadness of that time envelops the book, yet at the same time the love story enfolds between Bea Dot and Will Dunaway leaving the reader with a sense of ho...more
Based in Savannah GA right as World War I was coming to a close and the outbreak of the Spanish Influenza was at its peak, it really gives the reader insight into that horrible epidemic that took more lives than World War I.
The heartbreak and the sadness of that time envelops the book, yet at the same time the love story enfolds between Bea Dot and Will Dunaway leaving the reader with a sense of ho...more
A respectable little romance, especially for free. In hindsight, the major characters got over their potential psychological issues rather neatly, but, hey, romance was the point. Interesting time/place to set a story ... small-town/rural Georgia during the early 1900s flu epidemic.
When I started to read this book, I thought, I can't read a book that has a main character named Bea Dot....and then BAM! Something happens right from the beginning that had me hooked. It was a great story with great characters.
Got it for free on amazon.
Got it for free on amazon.
I would have liked to have given this book a higher rating but I just couldn't for one reason. I have never read a book that had so many misspellings and grammatical errors. In the age of spell-check this can be avoided to a large extent however many of the misspellings here would have been missed. For example, here and hear might not be flagged as incorrect. Many types of errors can only be caught with careful editing by either the author or a book editor. I did read the book on Kindle but I wo...more
Excellent first novel! Has a solid story line with honest characters. The aspect of life in the South during the Great War intertwined with the details of coping with the Flu epidemic of 1918 made for a (wait for it......) Good Read!!
I really enjoyed this book about rural life in the early 1918's. As the story unfolded, I was unable to put the book down. The hardships, misunderstandings and trails that beset this era in Georgia made for a very interesting read for me.
A good historical fiction piece -- set during an influenza outbreak during WWI. The main character is very likeable - must deal with an abusive husband. Gives a realistic and fairly accurate picture of the South during this time frame.
I love historical fiction, especially about women, so this was right up my alley. It was a great story, well written, and a real page turner. However, when I started describing the story to my husband I realized it was also a terrible story of loss and heartbreak. Still, it had a good ending and I would recommend it anyone.
Good Historical Fiction however predictable. Just an easy read. You are happy for the main character, Bea Dot - and how she grows as a stronger woman against abuse and disease and finding herself and new love.
Nancy Brandon is good story teller, and I enjoyed this book. I knew of the influenza epidemic of 1918. Now I feel I was there. The story is peopled with interesting characters, some to love and some to hate.
Very enjoyable - worth the read. The historical references were very well researched and written. The characters were very engaging, likable and believable. I would recommend this book.
I really enjoyed reading this book. I learned a bit about the flu epidemic of 1918 by Googling it after being reminded about it from the story. I recommend this book to my reader friends and family!
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Nancy Brandon grew up in middle Georgia and graduated from the University of Georgia. For the past twenty years, she has taught college English in Savannah, Georgia, where she lives with her husband and two children. Dunaway's Crossing is her first novel.
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