The critically acclaimed, bestselling author of News of the World and Enemy Women returns to Texas in this atmospheric story, set at the end of the Civil War, about an itinerant fiddle player, a ragtag band of musicians with whom he travels trying to make a living, and the charming young Irish lass who steals his heart. -- Associated Press.
Lose yourself in this entertaining tale. . . .
Jiles\' sparse but lyrical writing is a joy to read.
Incandescent in its beauty, told in Paulette Jiles\'s trademark spare yet lilting style, Simon the Fiddler is a captivating, bittersweet tale of the chances a devoted man will take, and the lengths he will go to fulfill his heart\'s yearning.
But Simon cannot forget the fair Irish maiden, and vows that someday he will find her again.
She must accompany the colonel\'s family to finish her three years of service.
He will travel around Texas seeking fame and fortune as a musician.
After the surrender, Simon and Doris go their separate ways.
There the quick-thinking, audacious Fiddler can\'t help but notice the lovely Doris Mary Dillon, an indentured girl from Ireland, who is governess to a Union colonel\'s daughter.
Weeks later, on the eve of the Confederate surrender, Simon and his bandmates are called to play for officers and their families from both sides of the conflict.
Luckily his talent with a fiddle gets him a comparatively easy position in a regimental band.
But following a barroom brawl in Victoria, Texas, Simon finds himself conscripted, however belatedly, into the Confederate Army.
Till now, twenty-three-year-old Simon Boudlin has evaded military duty thanks to his slight stature, youthful appearance, and utter lack of compunction about bending the truth.
In March 1865, the long and bitter War between the States is winding down.
The critically acclaimed, bestselling author of News of the World and Enemy Women returns to Texas in this atmospheric story, set at the end of the Civil War, about an itinerant fiddle player, a ragtag band of musicians with whom he travels trying to make a living, and the charming young Irish lass who steals his heart
