My Dear Emma by JoAnn Meaker

"Our country shall not perish
Our hopes shall not be crushed,
For God will surely bless us,
And aid the cause that's just.
Oh, 'tis a fearful struggle,
A nation's blood to spill,
But the Union, now, forever!
Oh, yes! We'll surely conquer
The traitors; they must yield
And we will bear in triumph
Our banner from the field."
    -from Say, Must Our Country Perish? by Mrs. Cordelia Beardsley Wilder

A friend loaned this book to me; it was written by a friend of hers. I rather liked the story---fiction interspersed with historical fiction and some mystery in the mix. The quality of the publication was mediocre, at best. Numerous mistakes in spelling and grammar distracted me. Too long a teacher, I suppose!

Protagonist Rachel Benton has moved with her young daughter from California to a small town in New York trying to reinvent her life after the tragic death of her husband. At the beginning of the novel she is burying her grandmother, Nonna, her last known kin whose caregiver she has been for a short time. Rachel finds herself navigating the water of estate law. While searching for Nonna's will, she discovers diaries and letters dating back to the Civil War. The diaries were written by Emma Beardslee and the letters are from her husband, James who is serving in the Union army. A story within a story is revealed through these sources and so, the reader, along with Rachel learn their background but must wait almost to the end of the novel before finding out what Emma and James have to do with Nonna.

The format reminds me a bit of the Rose Cottage Chronicles, Civil War Letters of the Bryant-Stephens Families of North Florida, except the Chronicles ring truer to the time period.

I am rating My Dear Emma a 3. Though the plot kept my interest there were things that bothered me, a few I have already mentioned. It was hinted that Nonna's house was on the Underground Railroad but I am not sure why because it didn't seem to have a part in the story. And I used part of a poem to begin this entry but I don't really know if it was written by a historic figure or Ms. Meaker herself since the poet's name refers to a character in the story. Also I thought the ending was very abrupt!