In an original attempt to connect the popular fiction with the definitions of liberty that emerged from the war, Diffley has intensively examined about 370 stories from 16 Northern and Southern periodicals. Well structured, her examination of the tales falls under three headings: Old Homestead, Romance, and Adventure. Analysis of each type stems from an exemplary tale reprinted complete (Mark Twain's "A True Story, Repeated Word for Word as I Heard It," J. De Forest's "Parole d'Honneur," and R. Davis' "How the Widow Crossed the Lines"). Writ large, Diffley essentially wants to explain how the destruction of slavery did not also lead to the legal emancipation and enfranchisement of women. To do so she summarizes the plots of a few stories and then traces their echoes of "gendered rhetoric" in the congressional debates over the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth amendments. The serious beginning of a projected trilogy on the subject; those prepared to purchase the sequels shouldn't miss the progenitor.
During the Civil War and Reconstruction, popular magazines throughout the country published hundreds of short narratives that confronted or evaded the meaning of the Union's crisis. In this first volume of a projected trilogy that seeks to recover the significance of this forgotten body of writing, Diffley examines the effort of popular writers and publications to contain the disruption caused by the war and its aftermath. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Rigorously researched and elegantly written . . . In her close and quite scholarly analysis, Diffley suggests that three thematic genres defined the period: 'Old Homestead' narratives, 'Romances,' and 'Adventures.'
Journalism History - David Abrahamson
Especially impressive is the innovative structure of this work, which interlaces the tasks of literary and cultural historian, editor, and literary critic. . . . Where My Heart Is Turning Ever is at once an impressive study and a genuinely good read.
Journal of American History - Priscilla Wald
An original attempt to connect the popular fiction with the definitions of liberty that emerged from the war. . . . Writ large, Diffley essentially wants to explain how the destruction of slavery did not also lead to the legal emancipation and enfranchisement of women.
Booklist - Gilbert Taylor
Timely and much-needed . . . Diffley deserves much praise for calling attention to this long-forgotten literature and its unprecedented examination.
Historian - Jacquelyn S. Nelson
By examining congressional debates alongside magazine fiction, Diffley shows that they inhabited the same rhetorical universe and underwent similar evolutions.
Stuart McConnelln Historical Review
Scholars have largely accepted the idea that not much fiction came out of the Civil War. In part, that judgment has always meant fiction that critics consider worthy of treatment as outstanding literature. But to a degree it has also been taken literally as meaning not much fiction was written. Fortunately, Diffley's work will forever explode that myth.
Reviews in American History - Louis P. Masur
A corrective to the all-too-common view that little significant literature emerged in response to the American Civil War.
College Literature - Timothy Sweet
An extremely well-crafted study, concentrating on some three hundred narratives.
Journal of American Studies - S. M. Grant
By examining congressional debates alongside magazine fiction, Diffley shows that they inhabited the same rhetorical universe and underwent similar evolutions.
American Historical Review - Stuart McConnell
