The Year of Jubilo: A Novel of the Civil War

By Howard Bahr

From the author of the award-winning novel The Black Flower comes a novel about a Confederate soldier returning home to find that life-and love-will never be the same.

On a balmy spring day in 1865 Gawain Harper trudges toward his home in Cumberland, Mississippi, where three years earlier he had boarded a train carrying the latest enlistees in the Mississippi Infantry. Unmoved by the cause that motivated so many others, he had joined up only when Morgan Rhea's father told Gawain that he would never wed his beloved Morgan unless he did his part in the war effort. Now, upon his arrival, he discovers post-war life is far from what he expected. Morgan has indeed waited for him, but before they can marry there are scores to be settled. For in his hometown yet another battle is being waged, and the enemy is not the occupying Federal troops, but Cumberland's own King Solomon Gault, a deranged, manipulative man on a mission to restore his own brand of justice to a community turned upside down. As Gawain struggles to find a way to avenge the Rhea family's honor, he is drawn into an inexorable showdown with Gault that once again pits South against North, and dignity against defeat.

Written with scrupulous respect for historical accuracy, The Year of Jubilo brilliantly evokes a time of sorrow and defeat, of anarchy and violence, and also of hope and rebuilding. A poignant and sweeping novel that reveals the human side of one of the most trying and pivotal moments in American history, it is sure to catapult Howard Bahr to the top rank of American novelists.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
• Release date: May 4, 2001
• ISBN: 9781429900119

Howard Bahr

Howard Bahr is the author of four novels: The Black Flower (1997), The Year of Jubilo (2000), The Judas Field (2006), and Pelican Road (2008). A native of Meridian, Mississippi, he served in the US Navy during the Vietnam War and worked for several years as a railroad yard clerk and brakeman. From 1982 to 1993, Bahr was curator of Rowan Oak, the William Faulkner homestead and museum in Oxford, Mississippi. His last post was as writer-in-residence at Belhaven University.  

Reviews for The Year of Jubilo

[shesinplainview · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very good story set in during The War Between the States. My first by Bahr.

[homan9118 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read this right after reading The Black Flower. My hopes were set extremely high as The Black Flower is one of the best books I have ever read. Perhaps the bar was set too high. This is the second of a three book series set in the south around the Civil War. The Black Flower took place during a battle, while this takes place as the Civil War is winding down. The writing ability is still there. I just felt the first hundred and fifty or so pages could have been cut in half. The final half of the book is excellent and reminded why I have a new love for Howard Bahr's ability. It just felt like nothing of any significance happened in the first half and that he took too much time doing some character development. I look forward to reading the final book of the trilogy. While this book was not as good as The Black Flower, in my opinion, it is a very good read for anybody looking to read Civil War era fiction.

[mrstreme · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Part Civil War novel and part Wild West tale, The Year of Jubilo follows the adventures of Gawain Harper, a Confederate veteran who upon returning home becomes involved in a town battle of deadly consequences. Gawain reluctantly joined the Confederate Army after the father of his beloved, Morgan Rhea, told Gawain that if he wants to marry Morgan, he must fight in the war. Throughout the war, Gawain learns to accept his soldier life, and after three years of hard battle, he returns home to marry Morgan.However, Morgan's father has another demand for Gawain before he will accept his proposal: Gawain must kill the powerful King Solomon Gault, a former Confederate officer who killed Morgan's sister.The Year of Jubilo then progresses into a tale reminiscent of the Old West (at times, I felt like I was watching the HBO show Deadwood). Shoot outs, ambushes, stealing horses and weapons, toothless men, crazy men - you name it, it was in this novel. I enjoyed the characters in this book; many of their conversations were humorous (I even chuckled out loud), and Howard Bahr did a great job attaching this reader to the characters' fates.At the risk of sounding stereotypical, I would characterize The Year of Jubilo as a "man's tale" - full of blood, grit and guts. I am not saying that women can't enjoy this book, but you do have to like the dirtier side of historical fiction to enjoy The Year of Jubilo. (P.S. This would make a great movie!)