From the Publisher
In this sweeping saga of one of the most stirring times in our nation’s history, Peter Leavell brings alive the stories of unsung American heroes that should never be forgotten. Gideon’s Call is exactly the kind of historical novel I love.”
— Donna Fletcher Crow, author of Glastonbury, A Novel of The Holy Grail
Library Journal - Audio
Barrie Buckner’s gentle voice brings to life Leavell’s tale of a little-known piece of American history, the Port Royal Experiment. In his first book, Leavell uses the story of a young slave boy, Tad, to relate the broader chronicle. In 1861, advancing Union troops compelled white plantation owners to flee the sea islands of South Carolina as their slaves were the first in the nation to be freed. The Port Royal Experiment was designed to prepare these former slaves for their new lives as free citizens. While the government and troops concentrated on using the freedmen to bring in the cotton crop to help fund the war, groups of missionaries came to the islands to start schools (the founding of the Penn School by Laura Towne), provide medical care, and help in whatever way they could. Against this backdrop, Tad, who as a slave was humiliated, unjustly accused, and abused, embraces freedom and rises above his earlier life to become a savior of sorts for his people.
Verdict This compelling, historically accurate coming-of-age story entertains but also educates without being didactic. Recommended.—Judy Murray, Monroe Cty. Lib. Syst., MI
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