Would You Risk Your Life For an Enemy? The Novel, The Jackal's Mistress

Chris Bohjalian's Civil War Story

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Chris Bohjalian is a writer I've followed for years because he never fails to tell a good story. I am not alone in my appreciation of his skill. He's a best-selling author of twenty-four novels translated into 35 languages, and multiple works have been made into films. When he releases a novel, I don't hesitate to buy it, and The Jackal's Mistress was no exception - only this time I purchased it in audiobook format.

And enjoy it, I did!

Like other Bohjalian novels that showcase how ordinary people face and overcome big issues, The Jackal's Mistress has plenty of "big issues." The book is set in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia during the Civil War.

A Southern Woman and a Northern Soldier

Libby Steadman is a spunky young married woman keeping her husband's family gristmill going while he's away fighting Union soldiers. Before he left, he had set his father's slaves free, an action causing a ruckus among the Steadmans' Confederate neighbors. Two older slaves, now free, Joseph and Sally, decide to stay with Libby. Joseph was Peter Steadman's right-hand man, and with Joseph's expertise, Libby can continue supplying the Confederate Army with grain and supporting her family. Sally was an integral part of the Steadman household for years, and now she runs the household while Libby works at the mill.

Libby is also raising her dead sister's twelve-year-old daughter, Jubilee. Jubilee is a rambunctious and forthright twelve-year-old whose mother has died, and whose father was killed fighting the Union soldiers.

When Sally hears a noise in a nearby abandoned house, she investigates. What she finds is a near-dead Union Captain, left by his army to die. He has lost several fingers on one hand and half a leg on the other.

Sally tells Libby about the man, and the first of many difficult decisions ensue.

Would you risk your life for an enemy?

Often I have hoped that I would have been someone who sheltered Jews during the Holocaust. I want to be someone who runs toward danger to help others, but it's one thing to help the mistreated and downtrodden and something altogether different to have the strength or courage to risk my life for someone fighting against me.

Would you risk your life for an enemy?

That's the question Libby Steadman wrestles with. Part of her wants to walk away from the injured Union soldier, knowing that she would be placing herself and her household in great danger if she helped him. Aiding the enemy is a crime, after all. The other part of her longs to believe that if her husband were wounded in enemy territory, another woman would have helped him and kept him alive.

So Libby Steadman and Joseph haul Captain Jonathan Weybridge's near-lifeless body into her home. To avoid the chance of Weybridge being discovered, Libby decides to move him into her bedroom - because no Southern gentleman would dare barge into a lady's boudoir.

What follows after they situate him is a long period of painful recovery for Weybridge with the entire Steadman household caring for him. Sally feeds him and tends to his wounds. Libby appreciates the conversation in the evenings, companionship that buffers her loneliness and isolation. The boisterous Jubilee starts calling Weybridge, "Jackal," a term often used to insult Northern Soldiers. Captain Weybridge, however, is not offended. A former professor from Vermont, Weybridge is a kind man and father himself. He offers a listening ear and a compassionate presence that hears Jubilee's woes.

No good story is without conflict

It wouldn't be much of a story if The Jackal's Mistress was just about a woman helping a man heal. There's so much more.

First, Libby convinces a frequently drunk Doctor to treat Weybridge. Libby and Joseph buy the doctor's silence by offering to get medicines - and booze -from the Union fort at Harper's Ferry, a bold and dangerous move. Will the doctor stay quiet or turn them in as traitors? Will the Union officers believe that she's caring for their Captain? Can she and Joseph make the trek to the fort without being found out?

Libby faces horrible threats from renegades while trying to protect Jonathan Weybridge. The loneliness that both Libby and Weybridge feel for their absent spouses breathes a pervading pain into the book. Fear of Morgan's Raiders, lack of income, and hours and hours of grueling manual labor take their toll.

The book is built on relationships. Libby loves Joseph and Sally and Jubilee. She loves her husband who she hasn't seen or heard from in months. Captain Jonathan Weybridge loves his wife and family and the life he had in Vermont before the war. Joseph and Sally love each other and Libby. They also have a special appreciation for the Northern soldier in their care. But what kind of relationship can there be when two people, both married and on opposite sides of a war, collide in close quarters?

The Jackal's Mistress is inspired by a true story...

Years ago, Chris Bohjalian heard the little-known story of a Southern woman who saved a Union soldier. He held onto the idea until now and used it as inspiration for The Jackal's Mistress.

Bohjalian, at the end of the audiobook, says that a good story must have a unique voice. For me, that unique voice was of Jubilee, and I was delighted by a surprise at the end of the book involving my favorite character.

If you like reading about the Civil War era, you'll appreciate The Jackal's Mistress.. You'll get a feeling for what it's like to be out of step with those around you, as Libby found out when her husband freed his father's slaves. History becomes real as we hear about the aftereffects of John Brown at Harper's Ferry, the commissioning of goods for armies, and the unease of being near battles and enemy territory. If you've ever been separated from - or worse yet, lost your partner - you'll empathize with these characters. If you love a good tale about love and loss, and how the power of compassion changes lives, read The Jackal's Mistress.

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