Madeline Howard worked for one day as a nurse in a Union hospital and during that short time she saved the life of a Confederate soldier, Colonel Haywood.
The Lady and the Officer
by Mary Ellis
Harvest House Publishers
August 2014
The Lady and the Officer by Mary Ellis was a very enjoyable historical romance novel that takes place during the Civil War. Madeline Howard served one day as a nurse after the battle of Gettysburg but in that short time she saved the life of Elliot Hayward, a Confederate Colonel. Madeline’s home was destroyed so she left Pennsylvania and moved to Virginia to live with her only relatives. She was living in the South because of necessity but her heart belonged to the North and especially to General James Downing, a soldier in the Union Army. Colonel Haywood never forgot Madeline and when he happened to meet her in Richmond, he tried everything to win her affection.
Mary Ellis did a great job in the development of the characters, dialogue, and scenes. All the characters simply came to life on the pages of the book. They were so well presented that I felt as if I knew them all personally. Scenes were vividly described that I felt myself taking part in all the things that were happening. There were many twists and turns to the plot line and they all added to the suspense of the story. Which man would Madeline choose? Would she be captured as a spy? Would she be able to return to her hometown in Pennsylvania? And, why was Madeline a nurse for only one day? The ending of the story was very satisfactory.
I definitely recommend this book to anyone that really likes an historical romance that is set in the period of the Civil War and also includes several battles between the North and South.
Deanna Love Gottreu is a 75 year old widow and the mother of two wonderful sons who share second place in her life – with God being in first place. She spends her time reading or making quilts for charity. Her book reviews can also be read on her blog at www.buzzardsroostcrafts.com/blog.
This book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.