Tarnished Honor

by Mary Lou Hagen

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1588513777
• ISBN13: 9781588513779
• Release Date: October 2001
• Publisher: Publish America
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 0.86 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Paying the price of Freedom? regardless of color!

This is a very well written story about a confederate soldier returning home only to find more troubles. His family's home has been lost to Yankees, his brother is missing, and the War, it seems, is not over for some people. As Matt Culhane struggles to put his life together, he is drawn into love with a northerner, and the conflict between freed Negroes and those who continue to try to keep them down. This book keeps your interest from chapter to chapter, and at the same time moves your emotions as you feel the turmoil of the characters involved.This is a must read for anyone who enjoys Westerns, or stories of the Civil War, but more importantly, we should all take a close look at what took place during those times. Over a hundred years have passed since the Emancipation Proclamation, Civil War, and Reconstruction, and still we as a nation have not won the battle to maintain human dignity and the right to equality. Definitely recommended...two thumbs up!

Post-Civil War Novel with a twist

After the Civil War, confederate Matt Culhane anticipated going home to his Texas ranch and reuniting with his family. Upon his arrival he finds his family has moved to San Antonio, and his land sold to Yankees. One of the occupants is a beautiful, young widow. Matt's brother has joined up with an insurgent militia, and he goes searching for him. With bitterness, prejudice, and the war not quite out of the system of most men, Matt faces danger along the way. To his good fortune he meets a freed Black couple. Ms. Hagen does an excellent job in portraying the plight of the freed slaves, the poverty and displacement, and the struggle they made to survive in a harsh environment. Tarnished Honor is a book about a man doing what is right, helping those oppressed by prejudice and hate, and standing up for what he believes in. It is about a man finding love when least expecting it. Tarnished Honor is a portrait of post-Civil War life in the wiles of the Texas frontier. Ms. Hagan presents a side of Texas history that no doubt most people have no knowledge of. For those who enjoy reading western fiction, Tarnish Honor is an enjoyable read. I had a bit of difficulty with moving through the dialogue of the black freed slaves. Yet it is an interesting representation of how the freed slaves spoke, and it set the characters apart and made for an interesting read...much like Twain's use of dialogue.

A REVIEW OF TARNISHED HONOR

Matt Culhane, Confederate Cavalry officer, ends the long ride from North Carolina to his family ranch in south Texas still tasting the bitterness of the defeat of the southern forces.Instead of a happy homecoming, he finds the ranch in the legal possession of a northern family, and his younger brother, Jared, missing.Matt's search for Jared is the beginning of an engrossing story: how he re-acquires the family ranch and discovers love, his friendship with a family of former slaves to whom he owes his life, his running battle with Captain McCulloch, leader of the vigilante group responsible for his brother's death; and the completely unexpected and heartwarming ending.Mrs. Hagen's extensive research reveals facets of the post Civil War history of south Texas that are not common knowledge; especially the role of black families displaced from the plantaions of the Old South, and desperately attempting to find a new home among a hostile population.The author's desription of the land, its sparse and thorny vegetation, except along the streams and rivers of the region; the speech of its people and their customs are true to a way of life that persisted through the turn of the 19th century.The book is firmly rooted in history and depicts a people and a region with accuracy and credibility. The plot and the characters hold the reader's interest throughout the story.

An engrossing tale of honor fulfilled.

Tarnished Honor is a historically accurate, engrossing tale of one man's return home from the Civil War. History and human emotion are expertly woven together in Mary Lou Hagen's story of one man's struggle to rebuild his life after the war. Lovers of history, and students of human nature are sure to enjoy this book.