American Janus - Paperback

by Douglas W. Shouse (Author), Keith Hobgood (Illustrator)

American Janus* is the story of a North Carolina Confederate veteran and his family at the dawn of the 20th century. While looking forward to the promise of the future, Harper Clayton can never truly slip his inescapable past as a soldier in the American Civil War and a Freedman Bureau agent during Southern Reconstruction. *Janus-- the Roman god of new beginnings and transitions. Janus is portrayed as having two faces, one looking to the future and one to the past.

While American Janus is centered on its protagonist, Harper Clayton, it is ultimately the story of family. The 3 generations of the large Clayton family face trials and betrayal with resilience, love, and loyalty in one of America's most compelling periods, the dawn of the 20th century. This beautifully written historical fiction novel goes off the beaten path to showcase "hidden gems of history". Rather than the usual general Civil War references and vague summaries of post war societal dynamics, American Janus brings to life some fascinating, lesser known stories such as the White House wedding reception of President Grant's daughter, the ill-fated Freedmen's Agency and its efforts to assist the almost 4 million newly freed slaves, the raucous world of the Haymarket Caberet in New York City's Tenderloin District, The Great Wagon Road thoroughfare from Pennsylvania to the Carolinas, and many others!

American Janus is a remarkably different take on Civil War historical fiction. The book brings to life less well known experiences of the Confederate soldier. The front line horrors of Fredericksburg, the miserable retreat from Gettysburg, the charge across Batchelor's Creek at New Bern and others are described in vivd detail. Instead of the typical cardboard Civil War characters of hero and pining wife, the author gives his characters layers of complexity and intrigue. This is "North and South" in 3D!