The Marsh Hen

by Will Bellais

A way of life vanishes. World War I. Liberation. A people devastated in a season of pandemic, shortages and family disorder. The three-carriage train floats over the low country salt water marshes to the barrier Tybee Island. The fort bursts at the seams with fresh, unworldly doughboys, ready to fight in the trenches of France. The draftees travel on the “furlough train”—“The Marsh Hen”—only to find death. David Taylor senses catastrophic epidemics. Personal issues consume his life and lead him to make unfortunate decisions, especially with Lorraine Atherton, a “fast” married woman who smokes cigarettes in public and lives in an uncontrolled scandal. First Lieutenant Scott Chase finds himself in a sexual triangle he sees as “criminal.” A rich cast of characters struggle against disease, war, prejudice and longing, revealing the true nature of Savannah ready to go to war—and the enemy not always a German.

392 pages, Paperback

First published November 5, 2007

Reviews

[Carl Wise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recently I read "The Marsh Hen" and found it an enthralling hkistorical fiction based on actual acounts of life in Savannah during World War I. It encompasses societal and cultural norms of that period in the "Old South." Included is a variety of information about etiquette, fashion, theatre of the day, the economy, drug use and gambling, disease outbreaks, KKK (Ku Klux Klan) activity, and a range of views on a country going to war.l The reader gets a wonderful history lesson, along with a gripping tale and a good read.