There are many practitioners of the craft of writing historical fiction, but few of those raise the genre to the level of art as gracefully as June Hall McCash….Marguerite’s Landing is a story of love, and of sorrow, and of family, and of the birth of a nation…an extraordinary tale written by an exceptional author. I will read this book again.
Raymond L. Atkins, award-winning author of Sweetwater Blues and Camp Redemption
What a wonderful story June Hall McCash has woven! I couldn’t put the book down and placed everything on hold for three days to complete a reading of Marguerite’s Landing without interruption. In a nutshell, she is an outstanding novelist.
Buddy Sullivan, author of A Georgia Tidewater Companion and Georgia: A State History
[T]he American South has been one of the world’s most fertile sources for fascinating stories and great literature. The tale of Robert Stafford, his slave mistress Zabette, and their six children [Plum Orchard: A Novel of Cumberland Island] is one of the most compelling sagas ever to come out of the region…a deeply intriguing story of human nature.
Charles Seabrook, author of Cumberland Island: Strong Women, Wild Horses and a columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ranks among one of best books I’ve read…poignant, sad, but great historical fiction! Especially since have visited Cumberland Island! [Review for Plum Orchard]
Carol N., Amazon Reviewer
Highly recommend this book, the best book I have read all year. Makes you want to go to Cumberland and find the graves and visit all the ruins. [Review for Plum Orchard]
Lori Conrad, Amazon Reviewer
McCash’s evocative novel [Almost to Eden] could well have been envisioned by Edith Wharton or Henry James. This Upstairs Downstairs tale weaves fact and fiction and the result is a delightful and moving read both for serious students of history as well as the casual reader.
Rick Hutto, author of The Gilded Cage and Crowning Glory
I have enjoyed June Hall McCash’s other historical novels, particularly the ones set on the Georgia Barrier Islands, for her ability to capture the authentic natures of those people and those places so perfectly. McCash, a poet, as well as historical novelist, uses her exquisite eye for detail and her ear for just the right words, to make every moment of history she tackles immediate and meaningful.
But Eleanor’s Daughter is the book I didn’t know I was waiting for. The culmination of a career as a medieval scholar, this book was 45 years in the making. When McCash finally put fingers to keyboard for this novel, she knew her characters better than nearly anyone else, anywhere, and her delicate touch as a novelist means that the full-color world she shows us unfolds mostly through dialogue–the characters themselves reveal their stories to us as though we were there. Hers is a fully realized medieval universe, and by the time I meet the first villagers, I am hooked, ready to turn the page and find what happens next. That that world is populated with Eleanor of Aquitaine and her daughter Marie makes the ride amazing. I have never read a book so quickly or enjoyed it so much. It is my favorite of all her books, an absolutely satisfying read.
Just Asking, Amazon Reviewer
I loved this book! [Eleanor’s Daugher] With vivid detail, June McCash transports us back in time to the turbulent world of 12th century France. There we experience the often violent rivalries of kings and noblemen, the constant struggles for power, land and wealth, the insanity of domestic wars and foreign crusades, all seen through the eyes of two remarkable women, Eleanor of Aquitaine and her daughter, Marie de Champagne.
Marie, Eleanor’s first child by King Louis VII of France, would have been heir to the throne, had she been born a son. Instead, at age seven she was betrothed to the Count of Champagne, who was eighteen years her senior. They married when she was fourteen. Despite the fact that the count treated her well, nevertheless Marie’s life story illustrates the painful subordination of women, even royal women, to the whims and wishes of men. In noble families, girl children were pawns in arranged marriages to males whom their parents deemed suitable mates, where their alliances would join properties, or increase wealth, or seal treaties, or guarantee peace between warring factions. Once married, the value of women lay in their bearing male heirs for their husbands. Marie bore two sons and two daughters, to whom she was a devoted mother.
In spite of the limitations placed on her as a woman, Countess Marie was to wield lasting influence on society, not only as ruler of Champagne in her husband’s absence, but also as a patron of the arts. Most importantly, like her more famous mother, she sought to elevate the status of women by holding “courts of love,” designed to teach young men that to win the favor of a woman, they must treat her with respect and dignity. Together these two strong women took an early step towards enhancing the power of women in the western world.
Kathleen Ferris, Amazon Reviewer
The Boys of Shiloh is a poignant, well-researched and well-written story with a unique perspective. Two young boys from the North and the South meet by chance on the threshold of a major Civil War battle. The author puts you in their respective camps, in the battle, and inside their heads as they try to negotiate a world suddenly thrust into chaos. This book is a great introduction to the Civil War for young readers and joy to read for adults. June Hall McCash is a noted historian, and though young adult literature is new territory for her, the story reads as if she’s written YA all of her life. Probably because she doesn’t talk down to young readers but tells things as they are.
Stephen Doster, Amazon Reviewer
June Hall McCash has written an extraordinarily cogent and deeply moving book about the life of a heroic couple, Ida and Isidor Straus, who chose to perish in each other’s arms when the RMS Titanic hit and iceberg and sank at sea. With an ever observant eye for poignant detail, McCash has penned a biography that will have both interdisciplinary relevance for the scholar, and a very strong popular appeal”
Paul A. Kurzman, Chairman at the Board of Directors of the Straus Historical Society
SEE AMAZON AND GOOD READS FOR MANY OTHER COMMENTS.
June Hall McCash 