Rebel Falls
A Novel
Published on 15. May 2024
Book
Hardback
272 pages
978-1-5017-7488-1 (ISBN)
Description
Winner of the W.Y. Boyd Literary Novel Award for Excellence in Military Fiction by the Academic Council of the United Nations System.
With Rebel Falls, Tim Wendel takes us to late summer of 1864. The Civil War rages on. Sherman is marching on Atlanta, while the armies of Grant and Lee battle across Virginia. In the North, war-weariness has made Lincoln's bid for reelection seem doubtful. As the fate of the nation "conceived in Liberty" hangs in the balance, Confederate agents gather in Niagara Falls to plan one last audacious maneuver to turn the tide of the conflict.
Rory Chase, a capable yet haunted young woman eager to contribute to the Union cause, accepts a mission from the Secretary of State, William Seward, to travel to Niagara Falls and prevent two rebel spies, John Yates Beall and Bennet Burley, from seizing the U.S.S. Michigan on Lake Erie and bombarding Buffalo, Cleveland, and other northern cities to sow fear and disorder ahead of the upcoming election. To succeed, Rory must gain the rebel spies' trust and, with the help of the Underground Railroad network still operating out of the elegant Cataract House hotel overlooking the Falls, foil their desperate gambit. But can she maintain the pretense of being a Confederate sympathizer long enough to unravel Beall and Burley's ingenious plot?
With actual events underpinning the tumultuous story in Rebel Falls, a forgotten chapter in the history of the Civil War is revealed. Far from frontlines, Wendel's exciting, character-driven narrative about a consequential struggle in the shadow of Niagara Falls' dramatic beauty is gripping from start to finish.
With Rebel Falls, Tim Wendel takes us to late summer of 1864. The Civil War rages on. Sherman is marching on Atlanta, while the armies of Grant and Lee battle across Virginia. In the North, war-weariness has made Lincoln's bid for reelection seem doubtful. As the fate of the nation "conceived in Liberty" hangs in the balance, Confederate agents gather in Niagara Falls to plan one last audacious maneuver to turn the tide of the conflict.
Rory Chase, a capable yet haunted young woman eager to contribute to the Union cause, accepts a mission from the Secretary of State, William Seward, to travel to Niagara Falls and prevent two rebel spies, John Yates Beall and Bennet Burley, from seizing the U.S.S. Michigan on Lake Erie and bombarding Buffalo, Cleveland, and other northern cities to sow fear and disorder ahead of the upcoming election. To succeed, Rory must gain the rebel spies' trust and, with the help of the Underground Railroad network still operating out of the elegant Cataract House hotel overlooking the Falls, foil their desperate gambit. But can she maintain the pretense of being a Confederate sympathizer long enough to unravel Beall and Burley's ingenious plot?
With actual events underpinning the tumultuous story in Rebel Falls, a forgotten chapter in the history of the Civil War is revealed. Far from frontlines, Wendel's exciting, character-driven narrative about a consequential struggle in the shadow of Niagara Falls' dramatic beauty is gripping from start to finish.
Reviews / Votes
Based on actual yet long-obscured events, Wendel's absorbing novel is rich in dramatic history, while his depiction of Rory's internal conflicts brings depth to her high-stakes mission.- Leah Strauss (Booklist) Put Tim Wendel's Rebel Falls on the shelf next to The Falls by Joyce Carol Oates and The Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan. They are great Niagara novels by great Niagara-born writers. They write of its raging waters with prose so good you can almost feel the mist rising off the page. Wendel's deep research undergirds the story but does not slow it down. His novel moves swiftly, like the river that animates it.
- Erik Brady (Buffalo News) Author Wendel provides an entertaining story that merges an interesting but largely unknown episode from the War Between the States, with historically grounded but imagined interactions with major players in the conflict.
- Brodie Curtis (Historical Novel Society)
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Cornell University Press
Product notice
Paper over boards
Illustrations
1 b&w line drawing - 1 Line drawings, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 236 mm
Width: 160 mm
Thickness: 28 mm
Weight
522 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5017-7488-1 (9781501774881)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Tim Wendel is a Writer-in-Residence at Johns Hopkins University and the author of Summer of '68, Cancer Crossings, High Heat, and the historical novels, Castro's Curveball and its sequel Escape from Castro's Cuba. He has appeared on PBS, CNN, ESPN, and NPR, and is the narrator of several audiobooks.
Content
1. One
2. Two
3. Three
4. Four
5. Five
6. Six
7. Seven
8. Eight
9. Nine
10. Ten
11. Eleven
12. Twelve
13. Thirteen
14. Fourteen
15. Fifteen
16. Sixteen
17. Seventeen
18. Eighteen
19. Nineteen
20. Twenty
21. Twenty-One
22. Twenty-Two
23. Twenty-Three
24. Twenty-Four
25. Twenty-Five
26. Twenty-Six
27. Twenty-Seven
28. Twenty-Eight
29. Twenty-Nine
30. Thirty
31. Thirty-One
32. Thirty-Two
33. Thirty-Three
34. Thirty-Four
35. Thirty-Five
36. Thirty-Six
37. Thirty-Seven
38. Thirty-Eight
39. Thirty-Nine
40. Forty
41. Forty-One
42. Forty-Two
43. Forty-Three
44. Forty-Four
45. Forty-Five
46. Forty-Six
47. Forty-Seven
48. Forty-Eight
49. Forty-Nine
50. Fifty
51. Fifty-One
52. Fifty-Two
53. FIfty-Three
54. FIfty-Four
55. Fifty-Five
56. Fifty-Six
57. FIfty-Seven
58. Fifty-Eight
59. Fifty-Nine
60. Sixty
61. Sixty-One
62. Sixty-Two
63. Sixty-Three
64. Sixty-Four
65. Eighteen Months Later
Conclusion
2. Two
3. Three
4. Four
5. Five
6. Six
7. Seven
8. Eight
9. Nine
10. Ten
11. Eleven
12. Twelve
13. Thirteen
14. Fourteen
15. Fifteen
16. Sixteen
17. Seventeen
18. Eighteen
19. Nineteen
20. Twenty
21. Twenty-One
22. Twenty-Two
23. Twenty-Three
24. Twenty-Four
25. Twenty-Five
26. Twenty-Six
27. Twenty-Seven
28. Twenty-Eight
29. Twenty-Nine
30. Thirty
31. Thirty-One
32. Thirty-Two
33. Thirty-Three
34. Thirty-Four
35. Thirty-Five
36. Thirty-Six
37. Thirty-Seven
38. Thirty-Eight
39. Thirty-Nine
40. Forty
41. Forty-One
42. Forty-Two
43. Forty-Three
44. Forty-Four
45. Forty-Five
46. Forty-Six
47. Forty-Seven
48. Forty-Eight
49. Forty-Nine
50. Fifty
51. Fifty-One
52. Fifty-Two
53. FIfty-Three
54. FIfty-Four
55. Fifty-Five
56. Fifty-Six
57. FIfty-Seven
58. Fifty-Eight
59. Fifty-Nine
60. Sixty
61. Sixty-One
62. Sixty-Two
63. Sixty-Three
64. Sixty-Four
65. Eighteen Months Later
Conclusion