North and South was the first part of a trilogy by the author.
The second part was Love and War and the conclusion was Heaven and Hell.
I read them all as I especially like the author's work and have an interest 1n historical fiction.
This book starts out when two young men meet at West Point and become lasting friends.
Orry Main came from a well to do southern plantation background while George Hazzard came from an iron and steel beginning in Pennsylvania.
Of George's siblings, his brother Stanley was not as good a manager so when he returned home and his father had died, he took over the mill.
George's mother agreed and Stanley wasn't too happy about it but he secretly didn't like living in a small place.
Stanley and his wife had political ambitions which would require them to leave anyway.
His sister Virgilia was an Abolitionist with extreme views and not very likeable.
In the Main household, Orry became the head after his dad died.
He had a fine character as did his sister Brett.
Now, his other sister Ashton was mean and treacherous though she was the pretty one.
She used her good looks to fool people and always get her way.
They had slaves at their plantation and everyone treated them like family except for Ashton.
Though Virgilia's Abolitionists were against slavery, they still didn't want slaves filling their northern factories.
Instead, they wanted them to be resettled in Liberia or other places.
She didn't have much use for the plantations in the south and didn't particularly like the Main family.
This novel deals with the thoughts and actions of those on both sides of the slavery controversy and how they interact.
These two families remained connected throughout the times at West Point and leading up to the Civil War.
Orry's cousin and George's younger brother later attend the same college and later married Brett Main.
These friendships and the wedding helped to further link the two families.
Abraham Lincoln becomes the hero of slaves everywhere.
He was hated by many in the south.
Was Lincoln more a cause or effect of the war? There should have been a better solution for the slave issue than what was to happen.
Men like Henry Clay tried hard to find a compromise.
The country was on a nonstop trip down a slippery slope of non compromise and disagreement.
The families became caught up in the ill thoughts of others but still held together during this prewar period.
This books gives a closer view of what life was like in this time and can be seen through the eyes of these two families of Pennsylvania and South Carolina.
The strong characters of these families and their changing attitudes give a wonderful understanding of history leading up to the Civil War.
I highly recommend this piece of historic fiction that I'm sure you'll enjoy.