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The Second Mrs. Hockaday
by
Susan Rivers
“All I had known for certain when I came around the hen house that first evening in July and saw my husband trudging into the yard after lifetimes spent away from us, a borrowed bag in his hand and the shadow of grief on his face, was that he had to be protected at all costs from knowing what had happened in his absence. I did not believe he could survive it.”
When Major Gr ...more
When Major Gr ...more
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Community Reviews
(showing 1-30)
Placidia is only seventeen when she agrees to marry Major Hockaday, a man much older than herself, a recent widower with a small child. After spending only two days together, he is recalled to service in our Civil War. Now she is expected to manage his large farm, take care of his little boy and all with little help. When he finally returns it is to find that she has given birth, and said to have murdered the child. What really happened in the two years he was away.
Told almost entirely in journa ...more
Told almost entirely in journa ...more
Find this and other reviews at: http://flashlightcommentary.blogspot....
I’m going to be entirely honest and admit that I picked up Susan Rivers’ The Second Mrs. Hockaday because it looked absolutely nothing like The Sun King Conspiracy. I’d just finished the latter and I didn’t want anything to ruin the high I’d gotten off reading it so I intentionally looked around for something different. I’d an ARC of Rivers’ debut on hand and the description bore so little resemblance to the French intrigue ...more
I’m going to be entirely honest and admit that I picked up Susan Rivers’ The Second Mrs. Hockaday because it looked absolutely nothing like The Sun King Conspiracy. I’d just finished the latter and I didn’t want anything to ruin the high I’d gotten off reading it so I intentionally looked around for something different. I’d an ARC of Rivers’ debut on hand and the description bore so little resemblance to the French intrigue ...more
This haunting novel takes place during the Civil War. Placidia is only 17 years old when the older Major Gryffith Hockaday speaks to her father about the possibility of marrying her. Major Hockaday’s wife has died and left him with a young son. He and Placidia are married within days of meeting and are only married two days when Major Hockaday has to return to the war. He leaves young Placidia to run their farm and to care for his young son. When he returns from the war two years later, Placidia
...more
The real tragedy in my review is that no one is going to be able to read this book for months. I have hope though that people will take note and place it on their TBR( if it appeals to your literary tastebuds). An epistolary novel( in a series of letters, diary entries, and court records) set during the time of the American Civil War, The Second Mrs. Hockaday took me by surprise. I had no expectations going into the story, but I truly became invested in this heart wrenching tale. However, that
...more
Wow! This was a very compelling debut novel that takes place (primarily) in the south during the Civil War, and is told through correspondence. While it is considered historical fiction, several of the events are based on true events and give the story a very authentic feel. It was easy to get caught up in the narrative of the letters and, like the characters, anxiously await the news that each one brought. Parts of the story are told around 30 years after the war by the descendants of the main
...more
A special thank you to Algonquin Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Review to follow.
This novel about a young woman who is thrust into a hard life as the wife of an absent soldier and farmer during the American Civil War is told through letters, diaries, and other documents. At only 17 years old, and after only one week at her new home, she is left alone to care for her husband's farm and his son by his previous marriage as he returns to the battle front. When he finally returns two years later, he finds his young wife has given birth to another man's child in his absence, and i
...more
Jan 31, 2017
Michelle
added it
My first reaction upon finishing The Second Mrs Hockaday was stunned silence immediately followed by a powerful sense of loss. Placidia’s story so entranced me that it took me several hours to mourn the fact that I had finished it. The silence came about because her story was so powerful it swept me into her world and made me forget my own. It has been a long time since any novel has made me feel this way.
Susan Rivers’ second novel is the epitome of exemplary use of the epistolary literary forma ...more
Susan Rivers’ second novel is the epitome of exemplary use of the epistolary literary forma ...more
Dec 01, 2016
Dorine
rated it
really liked it
Recommends it for:
fans of civil war fiction, mystery revealed thru letters/journal entries
Shelves:
historical,
suspense-or-thriller,
historical-dark,
ebooks-kindle,
farming,
diary,
family-dynamics,
fiction,
1800s,
mystery,
veteran,
civil-war
Rated 4.5 - THE SECOND MRS. HOCKADAY by Susan Rivers is an excellent historical mystery portrayed through letters and journal entries, unraveling an engrossing tale. For those who love the Civil War era, this novel will surely suck you right in.
More historical book reviews featuring letters located at The Zest Quest.
The book starts out with a letter from Placidia to her cousin Millie where she describes the day she met her future husband. It then bounces to Placidia describing how she will be re ...more
More historical book reviews featuring letters located at The Zest Quest.
The book starts out with a letter from Placidia to her cousin Millie where she describes the day she met her future husband. It then bounces to Placidia describing how she will be re ...more
*I won a free copy of this through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer's Program*
Actual Rating: 2.5
The Second Mrs. Hockaday follows a seventeen-year old Placidia as she is married to Major Gryffith Hockaday in the midst of the Civil War. When he returns, two years later, he finds that she seems to have given birth in his absence and murdered the child. But all is not what it seems - what really happened in his absence?
This book was definitely really hard to review, because I, for one, have never been ...more
Actual Rating: 2.5
The Second Mrs. Hockaday follows a seventeen-year old Placidia as she is married to Major Gryffith Hockaday in the midst of the Civil War. When he returns, two years later, he finds that she seems to have given birth in his absence and murdered the child. But all is not what it seems - what really happened in his absence?
This book was definitely really hard to review, because I, for one, have never been ...more
This should have been a me book: it's set during the Civil War, it's an epistolary novel, and it deals with a woman sent to prison after she mysteriously had a child (while her husband, a Major, was off fighting), supposedly killed the baby, and refuses to say who had fathered it.
Sadly, it took me nearly a week to get through this 250-page book. My mind kept wandering and it was just so easy to set the book down and not pick it up again for a few hours. The reason I kept reading until the end wa ...more
Sadly, it took me nearly a week to get through this 250-page book. My mind kept wandering and it was just so easy to set the book down and not pick it up again for a few hours. The reason I kept reading until the end wa ...more
A LibraryThing win!
An interesting historical fiction told through journal entries, letters and court documents. Normally I don't care for this type of writing but in this case it worked for me. Lack of punctuation at times was a bit confusing as was the flipping back and forth from past to present..Set during the Civil War young Placidia marries a much older man, spends only 2 days with him, and then is left to manage a large farm, oversee slaves, and raise her husband's 2 year old little boy w ...more
An interesting historical fiction told through journal entries, letters and court documents. Normally I don't care for this type of writing but in this case it worked for me. Lack of punctuation at times was a bit confusing as was the flipping back and forth from past to present..Set during the Civil War young Placidia marries a much older man, spends only 2 days with him, and then is left to manage a large farm, oversee slaves, and raise her husband's 2 year old little boy w ...more
Thanks to Netgalley for giving me a free digital copy in exchange for a honest review.
Wow, I loved this book! It had everything, historical fiction about a young wife left to manage a farm during the Civil War, a mystery concerning a dead baby, the story slowly unfolding in pieces through diary entries, letters, and court records .... I couldn't put it down and keep thinking about it after I'm done. I highly recommend this book!
Wow, I loved this book! It had everything, historical fiction about a young wife left to manage a farm during the Civil War, a mystery concerning a dead baby, the story slowly unfolding in pieces through diary entries, letters, and court records .... I couldn't put it down and keep thinking about it after I'm done. I highly recommend this book!
I loved this book so much I whipped through it in a day. Written in diary and letter format, the author had me guessing from beginning to end. It combines two of my favorite genres: mystery and historical fiction.
Placidia is only 17 when she meets the much old Major Hockaday and agrees to marry him after she has known him only 2 days. They have only 2 days together at his farm before he gets called back to the Army to fight another Civil War battle. Placidia is left with the farm to run, her husband's child of 2 to raise and slaves to oversee which is much different that the life she had left. When her husband returns two years later, he is quickly told that his wife had a baby during the second year he
...more
This book causes turmoil within the reader, but in a good way. It is the kind of confusion over why someone would do what they did, which you don't really understand until later in the book and then suddenly you do, and it is heart-wrenching.
The story is told through letters exchanged back and forth during and after the Civil War, through various family members. I found myself enthralled with this book within the first few chapters, and read it in one sitting until I was finished. The character ...more
The story is told through letters exchanged back and forth during and after the Civil War, through various family members. I found myself enthralled with this book within the first few chapters, and read it in one sitting until I was finished. The character ...more
A compelling story that grabbed my imagination from the first page to the end. Beautifully written! I loved the language of the 1860's.
I would like to thank NetGalley, Algonquin Books, and Susan Rivers for the advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review. I have been on a historic fiction kick and this book seemed to have it all. Civil War, love, betrayal, murder; what else could one want. To my surprise, this story was told in letter and document form so it was a struggle for me to get through. This was a tale of a teen aged woman, Placidia, who marries an older man, Gryffth, who then goes off to war for 2 years. She
...more
Interesting historical fiction set during and after the Civil War. Told through letters and diary entries. If you like historicals and the Civil War, this could be for you!
A beautifully written story told through diary entries and letters about the loss and harrowing experiences a young woman courageously faced during the Civil War. The language draws you into another time. While the Civil War is the backdrop for all that happens, it is a love story (not romance), a story about truth and forgiveness, a suspenseful tale about how a woman's response to a single incident can profoundly shape the life of a family.
The main character, Placidia, captured my heart and ea ...more
The main character, Placidia, captured my heart and ea ...more
Dia leaves her home, marries a soldier who leaves her the next day, and tries to manage a farm with runaway or abusive workers, thieves, and danger. It was a picture of the trials and struggles of being a young woman in a farm position without adequate help in dangerous times in history. The tone of the voice in the book did slow me in reading even though it hopped from one time period to another.
A stunning debut! Susan Rivers has done what many may have deemed impossible -
she has given us a mesmerizing story that comes to terms with the legacy of slavery in the United
States, the struggles only endured by women, and the immutable power of love.
The Second Mrs. Hockaday is the story of 17-year-old Placidia, a well brought up young
woman who quickly marries a Confederate soldier, Major Gryffith Hockaday. She is told by her father that the soldier has an untarnished reputation and he wants ...more
I got this book as an ARC from NetGalley, unfortunately this book is not for me. I was very intrigued by it originally being in the format of letters, but to be honest, I just was kind of bored by it because the language was so far from what we use in the modern day. I think it could have been interesting in a normal narrative format, but I was not going to force myself to read this. I feel it is more fair to stop reading this book and not give it a rating, than to force myself to read it and gi
...more
I struggled with this book because of the writing style. The dialogue of this book is mostly through letters, journals and court documents which are completely unquoted. I really hated that. Its set during the Civil War and it’s about Placidia, a teenager (17), left to fend for herself after two days of marriage to Major Hockaday, who is on the from lines of the war. The Major leaves for the army and this new wife is expected to run his farm and raise his young child from his first marriage.
Two ...more
Two ...more
Publication Date: Jan. 10, 2017
Publisher: Algonquin Books
I simply fell in love with this historical fiction inspired by the true story of Elizabeth and Arthur Kennedy. A seventeen year old Southern girl, of well means, marries a Major in the confederated army during the Civil War. He is an older man, with a toddler boy. He lost has his wife, the first Mrs. Hockaday, almost two years prior. The new bride leaves her home to begin her life as a farm wife. Unfortunately, the Major needs to return to ...more
Publisher: Algonquin Books
I simply fell in love with this historical fiction inspired by the true story of Elizabeth and Arthur Kennedy. A seventeen year old Southern girl, of well means, marries a Major in the confederated army during the Civil War. He is an older man, with a toddler boy. He lost has his wife, the first Mrs. Hockaday, almost two years prior. The new bride leaves her home to begin her life as a farm wife. Unfortunately, the Major needs to return to ...more
Being a history nerd, and proud of it, there isn't any historical fiction that I'm not willing to try so when the chance to request this novelization of events during the Civil War came up, I took it with much excitement. And I am just as excited to have read it now that I'm finished.
It was a strange arrangement at first, a novel comprised entirely of letters and diary entries, with an occasional legal statement thrown in, and I did wonder if that could properly tell the story of Placidia Hockad ...more
It was a strange arrangement at first, a novel comprised entirely of letters and diary entries, with an occasional legal statement thrown in, and I did wonder if that could properly tell the story of Placidia Hockad ...more
This historical fiction story begins in 1863 in Civil War ravaged South Carolina. It is told in a series of letters between Placidia, the main character and her cousin, her sons and her aunt as well as her own diary entries.
Placidia Finchler was 17 year old when she met Major Gryffth Hockaby, a Confederate soldier. It was the weekend of her step-sister's wedding and the Major was at the Finchler farm buying a mule from Placidia's father. The next day the Major, a recent widower, asked Placidia's ...more
Placidia Finchler was 17 year old when she met Major Gryffth Hockaby, a Confederate soldier. It was the weekend of her step-sister's wedding and the Major was at the Finchler farm buying a mule from Placidia's father. The next day the Major, a recent widower, asked Placidia's ...more
This was one of those books that couldn't be put down. It started in a seemingly innocuous fashion. A wedding, irritating feelings between siblings and then wham the story started.
Placidia just 17 years old meets the Major at her step sisters wedding and within days is married to him. Days later after entering his rather mixed up household (baby son from a previous marriage, servants who are sullen and disorganised and a ramshackle household), Placidia is left high and dry literally holding the ...more
Placidia just 17 years old meets the Major at her step sisters wedding and within days is married to him. Days later after entering his rather mixed up household (baby son from a previous marriage, servants who are sullen and disorganised and a ramshackle household), Placidia is left high and dry literally holding the ...more
It took me a few pages to get into this book, but once I did it quickly became a read that I couldn’t put down. We are soon walking in Palacidia’s shoes, and what a life this young girl led, and where she found the energy and courage to go on is amazing.
The book takes place in the South and during the Civil War, and more amazing it is based on a true story. While the text is mostly in the form of letters, and a diary, along with using the illustrations in books for paper, as it was scarce. We se ...more
The book takes place in the South and during the Civil War, and more amazing it is based on a true story. While the text is mostly in the form of letters, and a diary, along with using the illustrations in books for paper, as it was scarce. We se ...more
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Susan Rivers was awarded the Julie Harris Playwriting Award for Overnight Lows and the New York Drama League Award for Understatements. She is also the recipient of two playwriting grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and has had short fiction published in the Santa Monica Review. In 2007 she earned an MFA in fiction writing from Queens University of Charlotte in North Carolina, where s
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