About this ebook
Mildred knew that Brose was right. She would never forget him—his hard, black eyes—his manner of clam assurance. Ever since their first meeting so long ago, she had thought of him unceasingly. He was different from any man she had ever met. There was something about him that was evil—and yet she had to have him...
Brose Kirby came up through the ranks. He was a man born to make a name. Tough, driving—a man who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. And he wanted Mildred Wade. But she was the daughter of one of Richmond's greatest families—and Brose—Brose was scum...
This is one of the truly great novels of the Civil War. Powerful, vivid—panoramic in scope, it is a brilliant picture of the scorched and bloody days that helped to form today's America.
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About the author
Clifford Dowdey (January 23, 1904 - May 30, 1979) was an American author of fiction and non-fiction dealing with the American South, Virginia and especially the Civil War era.
Born in Richmond, Virginia, he was born to an Irish father and English mother. Four of his grandmother's brothers were Confederate soldiers, and her reminiscences spurred Dowdey's lifelong interest in the American Civil War and the history of Virginia. He attended Columbia University from 1921-1925. He began his writing career working as a newspaper reporter and book reviewer for the Richmond News Leader. He then worked in New York City as an editor for various pulp magazines, including Munsey's, Argosy and Dell) from 1926-1935. Dowdey and his first wife, New York stage actress Katherine Wright Carrington, moved to Florida for a season and then to Richmond, Virginia, where he finished his first novel Bugles Blow No More (1937).
Dowdey spent the rest of his days in Richmond and worked as a writer of historical fiction and history. He reviewed others' historical works in academic journals, such as "The Journal of Southern History" and "The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography." His historical novels, which included several on General Robert E. Lee, proved popular among readers, and several of his works, such as The Golden Age: A Climate for Greatness, Virginia 1732-1775 (1970), received critical acclaim by noted historians.
In 1944 Dowdey married his second wife, clinical psychologist Frances Wilson, who passed away in 1970. He was the father of two daughters, Frances and Sarah. In 1971 he married Carolyn DeCamps, a librarian with Chesterfield County, Virginia.
Clifford Dowdey died in 1979, aged 75.
