A Woman's Wartime Journal

Lunt, Dolly Sumner, 1817-1891Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 44K words
Chapters: 5

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.A Woman's Wartime Journal by Dolly Sumner LuntAuthor: Lunt, Dolly Sumner, 1817-1891,Language: English, Class: E456: History: America: Civil War period (1861-1865), Release Date: May 30, 2010

Editor's review

This diary, kept by the nineteenth-century American woman Dolly Sumner Lunt, records everyday life and the upheavals of the American Civil War from a firsthand perspective. The appeal of the diary form lies in its immediacy and intimacy: through the eyes of an ordinary woman, readers feel how war seeped into the home, the plantation and the community, leaving small, real traces beyond the grand historical narrative. For readers studying the social history of the Civil War, women's writing or diary literature, the book offers rare primary material. It need not be read for plot; slow down instead and take in the atmosphere of the era and the personal feeling between the lines. Suitable as supplementary reading for history courses, and for general readers interested in the diary form and women's firsthand narrative, to be read closely in quiet surroundings.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers studying the social and everyday history of the American Civil War
Readers interested in women's firsthand narratives and diary literature
History students seeking supplementary primary sources
General readers who enjoy slow-paced, fragmentary personal records

Not a good fit for

Novel readers expecting a full plot and dramatic conflict
Military history enthusiasts hoping for analysis of Civil War strategy
Young readers who prefer modern narrative pacing and strong immersion

Reading tips

First learn the rough timeline of the American Civil War, then read the diary in date order to place it in historical context.
Mark passages about changes in family, work and community as you read; look back on them afterward to form an overall impression.
Read alongside other civilian diaries from the Civil War period to compare how accounts differ by standpoint.
Read a short passage each day; don't rush, and leave room to absorb the emotions and period detail.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a novel or a real record?

It is a real diary. The author, Dolly Sumner Lunt, was a nineteenth-century American woman, and the diary records life during the American Civil War as she experienced it. It is a piece of private writing that serves as a primary source, not a novel.

Can I understand it without any background in American history?

You can, but it is best to learn the basic timeline and background of the American Civil War first. The diary is organized by date and the events are scattered, so without a historical framework it is easy to lose your bearings; with that background, you can better appreciate the tension between private record and grand narrative.

Is it suitable as supplementary material for a history course?

It works well as supplementary reading for social history and women's history. It is not an analysis of military strategy but a record of daily life and personal feeling, which helps students understand the war's impact on ordinary people. It is best used alongside a textbook.

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About the author

Lunt, Dolly Sumner, 1817-1891 Author · American · 1817–1891

Dolly Sumner Lunt (1817–1891) was an American woman diarist from Georgia. Public information about her life is limited, and her name is chiefly associated with a single surviving diary, A Woman's Wartime Journal. The work records, from a firsthand perspective, daily life on the Georgia home front during the American Civil War, along with what she saw and felt as the fighting drew near. In a plain, personal voice, the diary conveys the upheaval, shortages and anxiety that the war brought to ordinary households, while preserving details of rural Southern life at the time. As a woman's wartime diary, it is often valued as a primary source for understanding the home front and Southern women's experiences, and it holds both historical and literary significance.