About
The American Civil War still threatens to tear the nation in twain. Private Ian Campbell betrayed his company and his duty because he fell in love with a handsome Yankee prisoner-of-war, Drew Conrad. Both men are on the run, desperate to reach Campbell’s family home in West Virginia, which may have escaped the conflict unscathed and may offer them both peace and salvation from the cruelties and hatreds heightened by the war.
But the trek is dangerous. Both men are wounded, deserters, and their love for each other is viewed by so many as a crime against nature—hanging for any of these offenses threatens every moment they tarry to rest. They must rely on the kindness of strangers, but every household they enter seeking sanctuary for even a single night on a bed and scant provisions for hungry stomachs might betray them should the truth be discovered.
Acclaimed author Jeff Mann’s sequel to his beloved historical novel Purgatory will instill in readers an ardent expectation over Privates Campbell and Conrad’s fate.
But the trek is dangerous. Both men are wounded, deserters, and their love for each other is viewed by so many as a crime against nature—hanging for any of these offenses threatens every moment they tarry to rest. They must rely on the kindness of strangers, but every household they enter seeking sanctuary for even a single night on a bed and scant provisions for hungry stomachs might betray them should the truth be discovered.
Acclaimed author Jeff Mann’s sequel to his beloved historical novel Purgatory will instill in readers an ardent expectation over Privates Campbell and Conrad’s fate.
Publication
Bear Bones Books, an imprint of Lethe Press (2014), ebook, 290 pages
Awards
Lambda Literary Award (Finalist — 2015)