Erwin Florence Pseudonym (1 results)

Boston: Crosby and Nichols, 1862. Original blind-stamped dark green cloth, illustrated on the spine in gilt. First Edition of this novel set in, and written during, the American Civil War. It is the best-known, if not only, novel by "Florence Erwin" -- about whom virtually nothing is known. In fact, both the title page and the binding are intentionally ambiguous: since the central characters of the book are the journeying Florence Erwin and her husband, is FLORENCE ERWIN'S THREE HOMES the title only, or the author plus the title? The headline atop each page is "The Three Homes." The story follows the lives of three women, each from a different background, who are affected by the war in different ways. The first woman, Mary, is a wealthy plantation owner from the South who is forced to flee her home when the Union Army invades. The second woman, Alice, is a Northern abolitionist who moves to the South to help slaves escape to freedom. The third woman, Kate, is a young girl who is sent to live with her aunt in the North after her father dies in battle. As the war progresses, the lives of these three women become increasingly intertwined. [Amz]. It is interesting that since this book was "deposited" in 1861 and first published in 1862, the three women's tales involve a lot of imagined outcomes, on the part of the author. Included are numerous illustrative plates. This is a remarkably close-to-fine copy of this uncommon wartime novel (spine gilt a little oxidized, front endpaper very slightly cracked, but scarcely any wear).