Shadows Of Glory
Second in a series (after Faded Coat of Blue), this welcome addition should draw even more readers. Abel Jones, a new member of William Seward’s secret service, is sent to upper New York State to investigate rumors of an Irish insurrection and the possibility of Canada being drawn into the war on the Confederate side. While there he meets, through the local Methodist minister, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Frederick Douglass. Jones solves the mystery of the conspiracy — but only in a way that will trouble his good Methodist beliefs.
Jones serves his country because he believes deeply that he has a moral responsibility to do so. But he misses his wife and child, and in his brief time spent with them, some of the most affecting parts of the novel are revealed. Parry has succeeded in writing a wonderfully complex story that covers many important social issues of the Civil War period: war profiteering, the development of a national railway system, immigration (particularly by the despised Irish), and the relationships between the abolitionist and women’s rights movements. Highly recommended to all readers who love historical novels with compelling language and characterization.
