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Miss Ravenel's Conversion from Secession to Loyalty
More panoramic in scope and more realistic in its details than Crane's Red Badge of Courage , this is one of the first and best novels ever written about the American Civil War
Drawing on his own combat experience with the Union forces, John W. De Forest crafted a war novel like nothing before it in the annals of American literature. His first-hand knowledge of "the wilderness of death" made its way on to the pages of his riveting novel with devastating effect. Whether depicting the tedium before combat, the unspoken horror of battle, or the grisly butchery of the field hospital, De Forest broke new ground, anticipating the realistic war writings of Ernest Hemingway, Norman Mailer, and Tim O'Brien.
A commercial failure in its own day, De Forest's story was praised by Henry James and William Dean Howells, who, comparing it favorably to War and Peace , acclaimed the book "one of the best American novels ever written."
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Drawing on his own combat experience with the Union forces, John W. De Forest crafted a war novel like nothing before it in the annals of American literature. His first-hand knowledge of "the wilderness of death" made its way on to the pages of his riveting novel with devastating effect. Whether depicting the tedium before combat, the unspoken horror of battle, or the grisly butchery of the field hospital, De Forest broke new ground, anticipating the realistic war writings of Ernest Hemingway, Norman Mailer, and Tim O'Brien.
A commercial failure in its own day, De Forest's story was praised by Henry James and William Dean Howells, who, comparing it favorably to War and Peace , acclaimed the book "one of the best American novels ever written."
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
544 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1867
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About the author
John William De Forest
84 books7 followersJohn William De Forest was an American soldier and writer, best known for his Civil War novel "Miss Ravenel's Conversion from Secession to Loyalty."
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
February 25, 2023
In Gore Vidal’s 1876, the first-person narrator, an urbane journalist, briefly encounters Mark Twain and, in a passing remark to the reader, mentions his preference for the works of John W. De Forest. As I’d never heard of De Forest, my interest was piqued, and I searched for what I learned was his best-known book. Written in 1867, just two years after Lee’s surrender, this Civil War story begins shortly after its outbreak. Moving from New England to Union-occupied New Orleans and war zones in the region, the novel includes graphic descriptions of several real and bloody battles fought in Louisiana and later in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. De Forest fought in these campaigns with the Union army, so he knew the terrain well. His depictions of army life and combat are stirring. Along with the fighting and occasional acts of great courage, De Forest describes the gore and horror of battle. He also portrays the often gross incompetence and corruption in the leadership. But far from simply a war story, the novel also focuses heavily on life in New Orleans and other Louisiana towns and settlements away from the front lines.
The central plot concerns a love triangle in a delicate Victorian mode. Miss Lillie Ravenel is a very attractive and vivacious young woman. She is a Southerner who, as the title suggests, is initially still partial to secession and the Southern cause despite the strong abolitionist views of her beloved physician father. At the start of the novel, Dr. Ravenel and his daughter have been forced to flee to New England from the South owing to the doctor’s outspoken views about the horrors of slavery. Lillie captivates both the hero of the novel, Colbourne – a young, idealistic, shy, teetotaler who joins the army out of his strong anti-slavery convictions – and his friend, rival, and superior officer, Carter – a charismatic, hard-drinking West Point trained, Virginian who while loyal to the Union has far fewer principles. To the reader, certainly a modern one, Lillie is a shallow person, even as she slowly is “converted.” As 19th century novels had no shortage of smart, thoughtful women characters, albeit often emerging from the pens of women themselves, I imagine even the early readers likely found her rather superficial. The somewhat less gripping domestic New Orleans episodes away from the military front lines did manage to evoke Trollope in style and substance – from me, a great complement. With the narrative shifting back and forth from the home front and occupied cities to battlefields and army bases, including faithful recountings of actual Civil War operations and generals, Tolstoy too comes to mind. It was written just before War and Peace, and many years prior to its first English translation, so De Forest was not writing under Tolstoy’s influence, even if at times it felt that way to me. While no rival to Tolstoy’s great epic (but what is?), the storytelling is strong and the writing engaging.
De Forest’s own attitudes towards the war and slavery are hardly opaque. His strong allegiance to and participation in the Northern side was not just to preserve the Union but also to abolish the moral outrage of slavery. At the same time, the very few episodes involving slaves or recently freed-men and -women were awkward and embarrassing to read and, unsurprisingly I guess, reveal a characteristic racism—an implicit assumption of white superiority—that was ubiquitous at the time among whites of most persuasions (and sadly hardly gone today). Similarly unsurprising are his attitudes regarding men and women. This mid-19th century Victorian novel does not transcend the mores and values regarding gender roles of that time. These significant weaknesses notwithstanding, and with Mark Twain continuing to rank higher in my estimation, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and appreciated this window into military and civilian life (for whites!) during the Civil War.
The central plot concerns a love triangle in a delicate Victorian mode. Miss Lillie Ravenel is a very attractive and vivacious young woman. She is a Southerner who, as the title suggests, is initially still partial to secession and the Southern cause despite the strong abolitionist views of her beloved physician father. At the start of the novel, Dr. Ravenel and his daughter have been forced to flee to New England from the South owing to the doctor’s outspoken views about the horrors of slavery. Lillie captivates both the hero of the novel, Colbourne – a young, idealistic, shy, teetotaler who joins the army out of his strong anti-slavery convictions – and his friend, rival, and superior officer, Carter – a charismatic, hard-drinking West Point trained, Virginian who while loyal to the Union has far fewer principles. To the reader, certainly a modern one, Lillie is a shallow person, even as she slowly is “converted.” As 19th century novels had no shortage of smart, thoughtful women characters, albeit often emerging from the pens of women themselves, I imagine even the early readers likely found her rather superficial. The somewhat less gripping domestic New Orleans episodes away from the military front lines did manage to evoke Trollope in style and substance – from me, a great complement. With the narrative shifting back and forth from the home front and occupied cities to battlefields and army bases, including faithful recountings of actual Civil War operations and generals, Tolstoy too comes to mind. It was written just before War and Peace, and many years prior to its first English translation, so De Forest was not writing under Tolstoy’s influence, even if at times it felt that way to me. While no rival to Tolstoy’s great epic (but what is?), the storytelling is strong and the writing engaging.
De Forest’s own attitudes towards the war and slavery are hardly opaque. His strong allegiance to and participation in the Northern side was not just to preserve the Union but also to abolish the moral outrage of slavery. At the same time, the very few episodes involving slaves or recently freed-men and -women were awkward and embarrassing to read and, unsurprisingly I guess, reveal a characteristic racism—an implicit assumption of white superiority—that was ubiquitous at the time among whites of most persuasions (and sadly hardly gone today). Similarly unsurprising are his attitudes regarding men and women. This mid-19th century Victorian novel does not transcend the mores and values regarding gender roles of that time. These significant weaknesses notwithstanding, and with Mark Twain continuing to rank higher in my estimation, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and appreciated this window into military and civilian life (for whites!) during the Civil War.
April 24, 2012
A wonderful 19th century lost classic that nobody has ever heard of. I re-read the book last week, over 40 after I read it the first time, and it just blew me away. More than the first time. I have the 1955 edition with an introduction by the editor Gordon S. Haight. Haight places DeForest above Stephen Crane as a realistic writer--at least as far as war are concerned, and I think he's right. Although I love Crane's other work, I find Red Badge of Courage unreadable--and I've tried in 3 times. Maybe because DeForest actually fought in the war, and Crane could only imagine it and tended to be a bit to metaphoric about the whole thing.
Miss Rafvenel, however, is sublime and the battle scenes underplayed in their realism. Normally, I sort of skim battles, but not this time.
Reading Miss RRavenel, in some ways, is like viewing a collection of Mathew Brady photographs. DeForest is a superb writer with a great eye for detail and history and "manners." He--as least in Miss Ravenel-- is Crane, James, Austin rolled in to one. Surely Margaret Mitchell was familiar with the book. Miss Sca4rlet, Miss Mellie, Rhett and Ashley are but pale reflections of Col Carter, Cap. Colburne (who really is not Ashley!) Lille, and Mrs. Larue. If I were in an English Department I'd be working on resurrecting hDeForest as a great American writer.
Dr. Ravenel, a southerner himself, gets a bit tiresome in his constant denunciation of all things Southern and Lillie is...well, sometimes silly, not a great strong heroine, though she certainly has her strengths. I found her continual need to adore someone a huge defect, even for the mid-19th century. Ah, but Col Carter! Carnal, flawed, but honorable. Mrs. Larue is similar. (I guess I differ from DeForest in this regard). Carter and Larue alone are, imo, two of the most memorable characers in American fiction. Colburne who starts out rather prissy stands the test of the war, and I think, by the end, is much closer to Carter in his though he maintains his "goodness." All-in-all DeForest is play8ing out a double virgin-whore paradigm.
The novel is quite cinegraphic. I'd love to see it on Masterpiece Theater (since the Brits are the only ones who can "translate it right.
Miss Rafvenel, however, is sublime and the battle scenes underplayed in their realism. Normally, I sort of skim battles, but not this time.
Reading Miss RRavenel, in some ways, is like viewing a collection of Mathew Brady photographs. DeForest is a superb writer with a great eye for detail and history and "manners." He--as least in Miss Ravenel-- is Crane, James, Austin rolled in to one. Surely Margaret Mitchell was familiar with the book. Miss Sca4rlet, Miss Mellie, Rhett and Ashley are but pale reflections of Col Carter, Cap. Colburne (who really is not Ashley!) Lille, and Mrs. Larue. If I were in an English Department I'd be working on resurrecting hDeForest as a great American writer.
Dr. Ravenel, a southerner himself, gets a bit tiresome in his constant denunciation of all things Southern and Lillie is...well, sometimes silly, not a great strong heroine, though she certainly has her strengths. I found her continual need to adore someone a huge defect, even for the mid-19th century. Ah, but Col Carter! Carnal, flawed, but honorable. Mrs. Larue is similar. (I guess I differ from DeForest in this regard). Carter and Larue alone are, imo, two of the most memorable characers in American fiction. Colburne who starts out rather prissy stands the test of the war, and I think, by the end, is much closer to Carter in his though he maintains his "goodness." All-in-all DeForest is play8ing out a double virgin-whore paradigm.
The novel is quite cinegraphic. I'd love to see it on Masterpiece Theater (since the Brits are the only ones who can "translate it right.
July 9, 2011
Does this novel depict the Civil War realistically? Yes. Is Lillie Ravenel the strong heroine described by the GoodReads description? No. She comes off as a bit silly, actually. Miss Ravenel's Conversion is less about Miss Ravenel's conversion and more about life during the Civil War (wait, I'm in the South...War of Northern Aggression) and domestic affairs at the time. The first half of the book was rather boring, being mostly about Lillie's friendship with two military men, the drinking, philandering Carter and the gentle lawyer Colborne, and how she eventually decides which of the two she'll marry. It sounds kind of Jane Austen-esque, but De Forest fails to make it very interesting. The second half of the novel picks up some, however, with descriptions of battles and military life, Lillie's father's plantation experiment with free black labor, and Carter's eventual dissolution into political corruption and adultery. While De Forest's characterizations of women and Southerners seemed rather degrading, he doesn't glorify the Union, either (again, there's Carter's corruption, along with some comical bits about drunk and/or cowardly commanders). After all, the novel is considered a work of realist literature.
Review originally posted on my blog: http://susie-bookworm.blogspot.com/20...
Review originally posted on my blog: http://susie-bookworm.blogspot.com/20...
February 15, 2025
I don’t read much fiction. I prefer history written by historians. But sometimes a well-written novel can convey the color and complexity of an era more fully and more realistically than can mere history. Written in 1867 and containing much that the author actually witnessed or experienced, “Miss Ravenel’s Conversion” performs that service perhaps better than any other Civil War novel. “Critics all agree that nothing in English or American fiction surpasses the realism of De Forest’s war scenes.” Such is the contention of the editor (Gordon Haight) in his Introduction to this 1955 printing. William Dean Howells likewise compares this work favorably to such exemplars of realism as “War and Peace” (1886, in English) in an 1887 review. Haight also says that “De Forest’s realism was not limited to the field of battle.”
Other noteworthy comments include:
“No character in nineteenth-century American fiction surpasses (Colonel) Carter in fullness and vitality.”
“Miss Ravenel stands alone, the first realistic heroine in American fiction.”
“This is realism at its best, achieving its effect without journalistic coloring or understatement.”
Steven Crane’s debt to De Forest is obvious, as is Margaret Mitchell’s. Rhett Butler, in my opinion, is at best a cleaned up pale version of Colonel Carter.
One thing I find curious is the novel’s lack of success in its time. I think the editorial mishap in 1867 (failure to proofread the galleys and the consequent massive typographical errors) which was not corrected until 1939 would explain a lot. I don’t know what to make of the theory that “De Forest was distinctly a man’s novelist “ and that the novel’s lukewarm reception was because “the novel-reading public is mainly female” and “inevitable in an age when the readers of novels were predominantly feminine.” Seems like a lame excuse.
That said, I can see Miss Ravenel’s not liking the novel much, although Mrs. Larue would likely have found it charming, possibly too genteel. I guess it depends on the woman.
One final thought: I need to re-read Mary Chesnut’s unpublished (until recently) unfinished novel entitled “The Captain and the Colonel”, which has at least a superficial resemblance to “Miss Ravenel’s Conversion”, with which Mrs. Chesnut could not have been unfamiliar.
In any case, this is a fine novel that should be read by the serious student of the history or literature of the era. It opens a door into a realistic world long gone with the wind.
Other noteworthy comments include:
“No character in nineteenth-century American fiction surpasses (Colonel) Carter in fullness and vitality.”
“Miss Ravenel stands alone, the first realistic heroine in American fiction.”
“This is realism at its best, achieving its effect without journalistic coloring or understatement.”
Steven Crane’s debt to De Forest is obvious, as is Margaret Mitchell’s. Rhett Butler, in my opinion, is at best a cleaned up pale version of Colonel Carter.
One thing I find curious is the novel’s lack of success in its time. I think the editorial mishap in 1867 (failure to proofread the galleys and the consequent massive typographical errors) which was not corrected until 1939 would explain a lot. I don’t know what to make of the theory that “De Forest was distinctly a man’s novelist “ and that the novel’s lukewarm reception was because “the novel-reading public is mainly female” and “inevitable in an age when the readers of novels were predominantly feminine.” Seems like a lame excuse.
That said, I can see Miss Ravenel’s not liking the novel much, although Mrs. Larue would likely have found it charming, possibly too genteel. I guess it depends on the woman.
One final thought: I need to re-read Mary Chesnut’s unpublished (until recently) unfinished novel entitled “The Captain and the Colonel”, which has at least a superficial resemblance to “Miss Ravenel’s Conversion”, with which Mrs. Chesnut could not have been unfamiliar.
In any case, this is a fine novel that should be read by the serious student of the history or literature of the era. It opens a door into a realistic world long gone with the wind.
June 29, 2020
I encountered this book while doing research on a project, and thought it would interesting to read this kind of conversion narrative, a woman from the south who goes north for a time in the era of the civil war, and who finds a northern man who eventually converts her to the cause of the Union. This was the description of the book and what led me to it was my curiosity as to how the author would manage the conversion. My hopes were not great but were dashed nevertheless. When the young woman, Lillie Ravenel, meets and marries her union officer, it is simply the marriage that brings about the change in her beliefs. She returns to New Orleans only to find herself shunned by her old circle of friends for having too many associations with the enemy. It is not her convictions which change but rather her alliances. The fact of slavery is not really part of the picture. It is rather a variation on the who-will-she-marry theme. Even the villainess is lackluster. The two suitors for her hand, a colonel and a captain, participate in the better parts of the book, which are the battle scenes, but action writing, no matter how fine, is lost in a novel, at least for me. But the most disappointing aspect is that a writer would see a woman's life as being so thoroughly shaped by her husband - would see that and make nothing of it, I mean. It was an interesting moment of research that is indicative of how white Americans outside the south saw the Civil War in the years that followed its end.
January 30, 2019
This 1867 novel has a lot to recommend it, but one major flaw which prevents any recommendation from being unqualified. Lillie Ravenel is a teenage girl from Louisiana, brought to the north by her loyalist father at the outbreak of the American Civil War. The author does not claim her to be “a first class beauty” but nevertheless she seems an object of attraction to almost every man who encounters her. Whatever charm she might posses does not communicate itself to the reader; Miss Ravenel comes across as an insipid, unimaginative, and not particularly bright young lady. She slows the narrative to a slog whenever she takes center stage and, unfortunately, that occurs quite frequently.
Miss Ravenel has two contrasting suitors. Captain Edward Colburne is a virtuous New Englander whose bland goodness makes him seem a perfect match for the uninspiring Miss Ravenel. He is saved from being a similar drag on the narrative by occasionally being the source of interesting observations and, especially, because it is through his eyes that the reader experiences life in the Federal army, the main reason for any modern reader to pick up this novel. Her second suitor adds a considerable amount of spice to the narrative. Colonel John Carter is a native Virginian but loyal to the Union; he is made interesting by having a generous share of personal vices, foremost a tendency to overindulge in drink, but also an inclination toward gambling and venery. For all his faults, he is a man of honor, at least among his fellow males, and an admirable military officer.
The main story of the young girl and her suitors is almost overshadowed by a secondary character, Mrs. Larue, Miss Ravenel’s thirty-something widowed aunt. If Lillie Ravenel’s charms remain hidden to the reader, those of Madame Larue almost reach off the page and to touch him. Mrs. Larue has mastered all the arts of fascinating men and her need to seduce just about every male she encounters seems as instinctual and unrelenting as a cat’s need to chase mice.
The prime attraction of this novel for modern readers, as well as many of Forest’s contemporaries, are the scenes of combat, which De Forest has rendered with a level of graphic detail unusual in fiction at the time he was writing. These scenes don’t occur until about halfway through the novel, but the patient reader is well rewarded with some of the most gripping descriptions of battle in literature. De Forest also has a keen eye for details of military life away from the battlefield: the fatigue of marching, the hazards of being exposed to the elements for months on end, and especially the physical and psychological debilitation of incessant hunger. Further removed from the everyday life of the soldier, he exposes the corruptions of military procurement and politically controlled promotions.
Indeed, whenever the narrative opens up beyond the immediate experiences of the main characters De Forest provides the reader with engaging characters and incidents. Among other delights he shows us the premature spinsters of a New England college town and their low testosterone student beaux, the macabre banter of Irish infantrymen on the night after a battle, and the alcoholic and profane “Knickerbocker” second-lieutenant Cornelius Van Zandt.
His treatment of religion throughout the book is skeptical or cynical, a welcome relief from the piety of Harriet Beecher Stowe. The novel is written with an obtrusive narrative voice which constantly inserts opinions and reactions into the telling of the story. This can be amusing, as when some ironic or sarcastic point is made in regard to institutions and behavior which the characters and their society hold up as moral or praiseworthy, or irritating when some point that could have been left to straightforward telling is needlessly emphasized. Fortunately, De Forest recognized the inherent power of the battle scenes and renders these without any distracting narrative intrusions.
If this novel could have been written as a story of military life during the Civil War, rather than as a version of “the marriage plot” with military incidents, I think it would stand in the front rank of American novels with works like Moby Dick and Huckleberry Finn; instead it remains a curiosity, perennially ripe for rediscovery, but unlikely ever to achieve an uncontested place in the canon.
Update Upgraded 3->4 stars. Having now read War and Peace, from almost the same year, I have to say that De Forest's novel is not greatly inferior to that novel, widely acknowledged as a masterpiece, and holds more intrinsic interest for an American reader. Miss Ravenel also has the advantage of being written by a participant in the war it describes, which counts for much more on the page than Tolstoy's tedious theorizing about History.
Miss Ravenel has two contrasting suitors. Captain Edward Colburne is a virtuous New Englander whose bland goodness makes him seem a perfect match for the uninspiring Miss Ravenel. He is saved from being a similar drag on the narrative by occasionally being the source of interesting observations and, especially, because it is through his eyes that the reader experiences life in the Federal army, the main reason for any modern reader to pick up this novel. Her second suitor adds a considerable amount of spice to the narrative. Colonel John Carter is a native Virginian but loyal to the Union; he is made interesting by having a generous share of personal vices, foremost a tendency to overindulge in drink, but also an inclination toward gambling and venery. For all his faults, he is a man of honor, at least among his fellow males, and an admirable military officer.
The main story of the young girl and her suitors is almost overshadowed by a secondary character, Mrs. Larue, Miss Ravenel’s thirty-something widowed aunt. If Lillie Ravenel’s charms remain hidden to the reader, those of Madame Larue almost reach off the page and to touch him. Mrs. Larue has mastered all the arts of fascinating men and her need to seduce just about every male she encounters seems as instinctual and unrelenting as a cat’s need to chase mice.
The prime attraction of this novel for modern readers, as well as many of Forest’s contemporaries, are the scenes of combat, which De Forest has rendered with a level of graphic detail unusual in fiction at the time he was writing. These scenes don’t occur until about halfway through the novel, but the patient reader is well rewarded with some of the most gripping descriptions of battle in literature. De Forest also has a keen eye for details of military life away from the battlefield: the fatigue of marching, the hazards of being exposed to the elements for months on end, and especially the physical and psychological debilitation of incessant hunger. Further removed from the everyday life of the soldier, he exposes the corruptions of military procurement and politically controlled promotions.
Indeed, whenever the narrative opens up beyond the immediate experiences of the main characters De Forest provides the reader with engaging characters and incidents. Among other delights he shows us the premature spinsters of a New England college town and their low testosterone student beaux, the macabre banter of Irish infantrymen on the night after a battle, and the alcoholic and profane “Knickerbocker” second-lieutenant Cornelius Van Zandt.
His treatment of religion throughout the book is skeptical or cynical, a welcome relief from the piety of Harriet Beecher Stowe. The novel is written with an obtrusive narrative voice which constantly inserts opinions and reactions into the telling of the story. This can be amusing, as when some ironic or sarcastic point is made in regard to institutions and behavior which the characters and their society hold up as moral or praiseworthy, or irritating when some point that could have been left to straightforward telling is needlessly emphasized. Fortunately, De Forest recognized the inherent power of the battle scenes and renders these without any distracting narrative intrusions.
If this novel could have been written as a story of military life during the Civil War, rather than as a version of “the marriage plot” with military incidents, I think it would stand in the front rank of American novels with works like Moby Dick and Huckleberry Finn; instead it remains a curiosity, perennially ripe for rediscovery, but unlikely ever to achieve an uncontested place in the canon.
Update Upgraded 3->4 stars. Having now read War and Peace, from almost the same year, I have to say that De Forest's novel is not greatly inferior to that novel, widely acknowledged as a masterpiece, and holds more intrinsic interest for an American reader. Miss Ravenel also has the advantage of being written by a participant in the war it describes, which counts for much more on the page than Tolstoy's tedious theorizing about History.
June 4, 2011
Just started this last night, but actually had a powerful vision of a book sprouting wings and flying away while reading chapter 1! I was thinking about context and how over time, context is lost more and more and that most books could disappear if the context is too far out of reach. Very horrifying idea indeed!
March 29, 2019
HI first saw a mention of this book when reading Indian Summer by Howells. The novel is typical of the time in a somewhat florid writing style for modern sensibilities, but was interesting for its proximity in time to the Civil war, being published only 2 years after the war was over. There are numerous topical references to people and battles that I was unfamiliar with, since most of the described battles are considered minor in the overall arc of the war.
The male lead is a captain in a volunteer regiment from the fictional New England state of Barataria (created by the author specifically to avoid any possible claim that some characters were real people). I did not realize that all promotions and officer assignments for these state regiments were handled by the governor of the state. In one case, a cowardly officer was promoted because he had political ties to a swing congressional district.
Miss Ravenel is the daughter of a union sympathizer who fled New Orleans at the beginning of the war. His daughter, born and raised in Louisiana, is an ardent secessionist at the beginning of the novel. When they arrive in New Boston, the young Colborne falls in love with her, despite her political views. She also meets the slightly disreputable Colonel Carter, who recruits Colborne to his regiment. When the regiment is assigned to the successful attack and occupation of New Orleans, Lillie and her father return to their home. Lillie is appalled to find that even though she remains a confederate sympathizer, they are social pariahs because her father supports the union, which is the first step in her conversion. The next step is when she falls in love with Colonel Carter, despite her father's disapproval of the match. Carter is a twice-married drunkard 20 years her senior (author has a strong prejudice against strong liquor), but comes to adore the innocent Lillie.
By modern standards, Lillie is an unsatisfactory heroine. She is giddy and a prattler, hating solitary pursuits and always needing validation and encouragement from anyone she is with. She does not recognize or appreciate Colborne's love because he is quiet and withdrawn in his demeanor. After she marries Carter, she often prattles to Colborne of how wonderful her husband is, completely unaware that he struggles to disguise his own love.
Another step in her conversion is when her father undertakes to operate a farm using hired negro labor rather than slaves. Lillie begins to teach the former slaves to read (both children and adults), and begins to recognize the humanity of the negro race. When the plantation is attacked by Texan cavalry, the former slaves are allowed to bear arms and defend them.
What makes this novel worth it for modern readers are the scenes of army life and battles. They are frank, matter of fact, and some are quite shocking in the context of the rest of the novel. After Colborne is injured, he walks back to the open air field hospital to find a charnel house of amputated limbs. At the end of the novel, after 3 years in service, he returns to New Boston gaunt, half starved, with a recurring case of malaria. He is basically penniless, since officers had to provide all their own uniforms and supplies from their salary. He must restart his career as a lawyer. Lillie is now a widowed mother who found out shortly before her husband's death that he had been unfaithful to her. He resumes the courtship interrupted by the war, and eventually wins her love.
Special fun note: the Project Gutenberg edition I read included the advertisements for current books from the publisher (Harper) including Trollope's Barset Chronicles
The male lead is a captain in a volunteer regiment from the fictional New England state of Barataria (created by the author specifically to avoid any possible claim that some characters were real people). I did not realize that all promotions and officer assignments for these state regiments were handled by the governor of the state. In one case, a cowardly officer was promoted because he had political ties to a swing congressional district.
Miss Ravenel is the daughter of a union sympathizer who fled New Orleans at the beginning of the war. His daughter, born and raised in Louisiana, is an ardent secessionist at the beginning of the novel. When they arrive in New Boston, the young Colborne falls in love with her, despite her political views. She also meets the slightly disreputable Colonel Carter, who recruits Colborne to his regiment. When the regiment is assigned to the successful attack and occupation of New Orleans, Lillie and her father return to their home. Lillie is appalled to find that even though she remains a confederate sympathizer, they are social pariahs because her father supports the union, which is the first step in her conversion. The next step is when she falls in love with Colonel Carter, despite her father's disapproval of the match. Carter is a twice-married drunkard 20 years her senior (author has a strong prejudice against strong liquor), but comes to adore the innocent Lillie.
By modern standards, Lillie is an unsatisfactory heroine. She is giddy and a prattler, hating solitary pursuits and always needing validation and encouragement from anyone she is with. She does not recognize or appreciate Colborne's love because he is quiet and withdrawn in his demeanor. After she marries Carter, she often prattles to Colborne of how wonderful her husband is, completely unaware that he struggles to disguise his own love.
Another step in her conversion is when her father undertakes to operate a farm using hired negro labor rather than slaves. Lillie begins to teach the former slaves to read (both children and adults), and begins to recognize the humanity of the negro race. When the plantation is attacked by Texan cavalry, the former slaves are allowed to bear arms and defend them.
What makes this novel worth it for modern readers are the scenes of army life and battles. They are frank, matter of fact, and some are quite shocking in the context of the rest of the novel. After Colborne is injured, he walks back to the open air field hospital to find a charnel house of amputated limbs. At the end of the novel, after 3 years in service, he returns to New Boston gaunt, half starved, with a recurring case of malaria. He is basically penniless, since officers had to provide all their own uniforms and supplies from their salary. He must restart his career as a lawyer. Lillie is now a widowed mother who found out shortly before her husband's death that he had been unfaithful to her. He resumes the courtship interrupted by the war, and eventually wins her love.
Special fun note: the Project Gutenberg edition I read included the advertisements for current books from the publisher (Harper) including Trollope's Barset Chronicles
January 19, 2024
Miss Ravenel's Conversion from Secession to Loyalty is a surprisingly interesting book about conflicting views of South vs North and the fierce turmoil and carnage of the Civil War.
The story opens in a fictitious town in New England where Professor Ravenel and his daughter Lillie have come from New Orleans. The professor is an abolitionist, his daughter is not - and she longs for Southern graces and society. Romance intervenes in the form of Lieutenant-Colonel Carter - a charming rogue with Southern charm and loose morals, and Captain Colburne, a Northerner of honesty and modesty. Carter forms a Union regiment and Colburne enlists to be captain.
John William de Forest has a florid hand, writing long sentences of detail and description, often didactic. Through, what some would see as padding, there is humour, keen observation, and choice turns of phrase. One I loved was "dropsy of vanity."
The battle scenes are vivid and cinematic as de Forest draws from his own experiences at Georgia Landing and the siege of Port Hudson. The accounts of the battles, the soldiers' lives, the lack of food, and the politics are what place this novel in the genre of American Realism and are its strength.
In part, the novel is also a romance novel through the attentions of Carter and Colburne on Lillie. Lillie is a sweet, 19-year-old, naive lass - but sometimes seems daft. Mrs Larue, a widow in New Orleans where the Ravenels board, seeks to beguile every man she meets. She succeeds at pulling Carter into her web.
De Forest's female figures are not flattering - rather they are derogatory, sometimes damming with faint praise. He sees them as weaker, less intelligent and more manipulative than men. This may be of the time in the mid-1800s or de Forest's particular bias.
Although the characters are abolitionists, their opinions and expectations of the negro are unacceptable today. However, there is value in reading how they used to be regarded even by those who opposed slavery.
The story opens in a fictitious town in New England where Professor Ravenel and his daughter Lillie have come from New Orleans. The professor is an abolitionist, his daughter is not - and she longs for Southern graces and society. Romance intervenes in the form of Lieutenant-Colonel Carter - a charming rogue with Southern charm and loose morals, and Captain Colburne, a Northerner of honesty and modesty. Carter forms a Union regiment and Colburne enlists to be captain.
John William de Forest has a florid hand, writing long sentences of detail and description, often didactic. Through, what some would see as padding, there is humour, keen observation, and choice turns of phrase. One I loved was "dropsy of vanity."
The battle scenes are vivid and cinematic as de Forest draws from his own experiences at Georgia Landing and the siege of Port Hudson. The accounts of the battles, the soldiers' lives, the lack of food, and the politics are what place this novel in the genre of American Realism and are its strength.
In part, the novel is also a romance novel through the attentions of Carter and Colburne on Lillie. Lillie is a sweet, 19-year-old, naive lass - but sometimes seems daft. Mrs Larue, a widow in New Orleans where the Ravenels board, seeks to beguile every man she meets. She succeeds at pulling Carter into her web.
De Forest's female figures are not flattering - rather they are derogatory, sometimes damming with faint praise. He sees them as weaker, less intelligent and more manipulative than men. This may be of the time in the mid-1800s or de Forest's particular bias.
Although the characters are abolitionists, their opinions and expectations of the negro are unacceptable today. However, there is value in reading how they used to be regarded even by those who opposed slavery.
March 15, 2023
De Forest came up with the idea of the Great American Novel. This seems to be his attempt to write it.
The story is entertaining, with stirring set pieces, dramatic betrayals, funny dialogue, and witty narration:
“Doctor Ravenel had been plotting the benefit of the human race. He was one of those philanthropic conspirators, those humanitarian Catilines, who, for the last thirty years have been rotten-egged and vilified at the North, tarred and feathered and murdered at the South, under the name of abolitionists”
It’s vast in scale—the action stretches from New England to the Deep South—and the characters are drawn from every part of the country North and South: from New England Yankee to Dutch Knickerbocker, Louisiana Creole, and Virginian gentleman, from South Carolina and Louisiana high society to newly freed African-Americans.
The novel doesn’t quite manage to fully meet its ambitions. The love triangle at the center of the story is weakened by nature of DeForest not showing what so many men see in Lillie. Maybe Southern charm and grace can explain Lillie’s appeal to Colburne and Whitewood who are more used to stodgy New England women but that can’t explain Carter’s attraction. De Forest ultimately has more to say about the nature of loyalty (both political and familial) than of love.
Generally, DeForest’s characters are more three-dimensional and realistic than many other American novels from the period, but some, especially the freedmen, fall flat today. Still, a great strength is that DeForest tries to present all of them as flawed human beings capable of moral growth and moral failure
The story is entertaining, with stirring set pieces, dramatic betrayals, funny dialogue, and witty narration:
“Doctor Ravenel had been plotting the benefit of the human race. He was one of those philanthropic conspirators, those humanitarian Catilines, who, for the last thirty years have been rotten-egged and vilified at the North, tarred and feathered and murdered at the South, under the name of abolitionists”
It’s vast in scale—the action stretches from New England to the Deep South—and the characters are drawn from every part of the country North and South: from New England Yankee to Dutch Knickerbocker, Louisiana Creole, and Virginian gentleman, from South Carolina and Louisiana high society to newly freed African-Americans.
The novel doesn’t quite manage to fully meet its ambitions. The love triangle at the center of the story is weakened by nature of DeForest not showing what so many men see in Lillie. Maybe Southern charm and grace can explain Lillie’s appeal to Colburne and Whitewood who are more used to stodgy New England women but that can’t explain Carter’s attraction. De Forest ultimately has more to say about the nature of loyalty (both political and familial) than of love.
Generally, DeForest’s characters are more three-dimensional and realistic than many other American novels from the period, but some, especially the freedmen, fall flat today. Still, a great strength is that DeForest tries to present all of them as flawed human beings capable of moral growth and moral failure
October 17, 2023
Wonderful history through the great American novrl
I have been exclusively reading biographies for three years now, and I can not state enough praise for this book. I love history and can not get enough of it. Although a novel our writer takes us into thought and breathes experience into us, that can not help make us smarter for having read it. His writing is smooth and beautiful without being sappy. At the end of the book, you are full of hope but not void of the reality of the time. Wonderful read!
I have been exclusively reading biographies for three years now, and I can not state enough praise for this book. I love history and can not get enough of it. Although a novel our writer takes us into thought and breathes experience into us, that can not help make us smarter for having read it. His writing is smooth and beautiful without being sappy. At the end of the book, you are full of hope but not void of the reality of the time. Wonderful read!
October 28, 2020
I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would; I am not a big Civil War fan but after our recent visit to many battlefields it seemed like a good time to read it. DeForest's descriptions were excellent and gave a great picture of the sound, sight and smell of the fighting and some insight into the lives and characters of those involved.
February 9, 2021
Well written, but has troubling misogynistic and bigoted undertones.
November 14, 2022
This book bored me honestly and the ending was okay but still meh
Currently reading
October 22, 202448:29 Their sign shows on their faces from the trace of bowing down on their knees in worship.
January 30, 2025
read for my class...plot took a minute to progress and then was okay. narrator yapped about unnecessary points
February 1, 2025
3.5 stars. The beginning and end were boring, but I really liked the middle part! Taught me a lot about the civil war and what life was like then.
Read
March 8, 2016This book is going to be a central feature of a dissertation chapter which makes it difficult to review. On one hand, this isn't exactly a fantastic novel that will keep a reader engaged and turning pages. On the other hand, it's a fascinating example of a Civil War soldier writing the war during the war, making sense of his experience, and trying to fit that into an established and marketable genre. The descriptions of invalids, battles, wounds, and childbirth are remarkable. Still, it was a commercial failure at the time for obvious reasons-- the romance plot is a bit cliche (at best) and hackneyed at worst, the fantastic battle and hospital scene feel shoehorned into the marriage plot, and it's very, very long.
If you're interested in the interplay of bodies, emotion, and fiction in the mid-to-late 19th century, I'd encourage you to pick this book up. However, if you're looking for a romance set during the Civil War, there are much better books out there.
If you're interested in the interplay of bodies, emotion, and fiction in the mid-to-late 19th century, I'd encourage you to pick this book up. However, if you're looking for a romance set during the Civil War, there are much better books out there.
July 16, 2018
Miss Ravenel's Conversion has good moments: it is perhaps just an ok novel, but it is so prescient about the cultural impact of the Civil War that it has a lot to offer analysis. The most interesting insight of the novel - that much of the war as experienced by soldiers was actually quite uneventful - is strong but doesn't exactly make for a page-turner. The romance plot, which often takes precedence over the war, may seem a bit dull at first, but its typological dimension maps out many of the north-south cultural dynamics (two men, each bent on conquering the rebel woman: the more attractive southerner wins first but the boring northerner outlasts him). The most interesting chapters are 7, 9, 20, 21, 26, and 30: these are worth checking even if you don't commit to the whole.
September 25, 2012
I loved it! Written shortly after the time in which it takes place, the Civil War, by a participant in the war, this tale has history and action written in the classical style I love, but with few pretensions. I want to read more books by the author.
August 13, 2012
Outstanding battle description by a talented writer who was actually on the scene of Civil War actions.
Want to read
September 10, 2016Coined the phrase "Great American Novel."
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