Mingled Souls tells the extraordinary story of a love that bridged cultural and religious divides. Anchored in the letters that Dorothy Thigpen and Edmund Shea exchanged between 1916 and 1920, the narrative recounts how they survived the perils and separation imposed by World War I, and how they negotiated the powerful parental disapproval their match provoked. Dorothy grew up in the Deep South, raised in a Protestant family with a distinguished heritage, and Edmund was a young Harvard-educated lawyer from Irish immigrant roots who grew up in northern Wisconsin. The book is a testament to their faith that their love could transcend sectarian division. It records the mystery of two human beings coming to know one another over great distance and at a moment in history when the world changed forever. Some of the letters were bequeathed to Sheila Harvey Tanzer by her father, but the others were scattered. They surfaced over many years, some unearthed from basements, others gathered from far-flung relatives. Tanzer pieces together the letters, recreating the rich texture of conversation that ultimately kindled a lasting love. Beautifully contextualized, the narrative is propelled by Dorothy and Edmund's increasing insight as they confront the differences in their backgrounds and forge a new language of shared understanding.
