The Blue, the Gray, and the Red

The Perry County Council of the Arts (PCCA) has collaborated with the students and faculty of its A Novel Idea program to bring an art form popular in the time of Charles Dickens to the readers of Perry County. Real places and events are woven together with fictional characters set in Perry County’s Civil War era, 1863. This historically themed serial novella was published in five installments as an insert in the Perry County Times newspaper beginning during 2018. Each section was written by a student author assisted by a mentor and includes historical pictures and artwork.

STORY SUMMARY: Sisters Matilde Kesler, a devout braucher (spiritual and natural healer), and petulant young Abigail are left behind to manage the family homestead after their father has left to fight in the Civil War. Josiah, a seriously injured Confederate soldier, stumbles out of the woods and onto their property. When Matilde decides to nurse the beguiling handsome soldier back to health, and the man Abigail loves is drafted and departs, resentment builds. Abigail consults a witch in a selfish act that brings swift, unintentional consequences.

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