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Note to readers: this is a chapter-by-chapter plot synopsis and contains spoilers. If this isn't what you want, please go to the review (no spoilers) of March. March is a terrific book, and I urge you to read it for yourself. (Brought to you by kat impatientreader.com) Book Summary: Mr. March (the absent father in Louisa May Alcott's novel Little Women) almost destroys his marriage when he volunteers to serve in the Civil War as a Union chaplain, then almost destroys his health when working with Union "contraband" (freed slaves growing cotton on freed plantations for the Union war effort). His wife Marmee must overcome her deep resentment towards him after his idealistic dreams are shattered, and give him a reason to live. Characters:
Setting: war scenes in Virginia, domestic scenes in Concord, Massachusetts. Oak Landing scenes at an unspecified location near the Mississippi river, hospital scenes in Washington DC. Time period: 1861 to late 1862/early 1863, and flashbacks to 10 to 20 years previous. Title: March refers to Mr. March, the main character, but could also refer to a military march. Viewpoint: First-person and past tense. It's Mr. March from Chapters 1 through 13, and Chapters 18 and 19. Marmee gets a first-person viewpoint in Chapters 14 through 17. Part One (Mr. March's viewpoint) Chapter 1: Mr. March sits down under a tree and writes Marmee a flowery letter. His unit has pulled back to tend to their wounded after almost getting wiped out by Confederate troops at the battle of Ball's Bluff in Virginia. He feels guilty about withholding the truth from Marmee of his awful circumstances. He remembers how the Confederate troops shot up his fellow soldiers, and thinks of a comrade Silas Stone whom he let drown in the river in order to save himself. He walks down the road to a plantation house that the Union army is using as a field hospital, and realizes that he knows the place: he was there 22 years ago. Chapter 2: Mr. March remembers being an 18 year-old peddler of kitchen trinkets and arriving at the plantation house, hoping to make a sale. A young house-slave named Grace opens the door; he is struck by her beauty and educated, refined speech. She invites him into the kitchen where he makes friends with Annie, the cook. Nobody wants his trinkets, but his small collection of books wins him an introduction to the master, Augustus Clement. Mr. Clement has a huge library, a luxury for those times. Mr. March disapproves of slavery; even so, he and Mr. Clement bond strongly over the books and Mr. Clement invites Mr. March to live at the plantation as long as he likes. Mr. March stays for a year. Mrs. Clement is an invalid, and Grace is her personal slave. The Clement son travels on plantation business for his father. Aside from Mr. Clement, March is most comfortable with Annie the cook, a widow with two beautiful children. One night he starts teaching her daughter Prudence how to read. Horrified, Annie and Grace tell him that it's illegal to teach slaves to read. (Grace is an exception.) However, Grace, with whom he has already shared a forbidden kiss, asks Mr. March to teach Prudence in secret. He agrees. But he's found out by Harris, the plantation manager. Grace claims responsibility, attempting to protect Annie and Prudence. Mr. Clement makes Mr. March watch Harris give Grace a flogging as punishment, and then kicks him off the plantation. |
