Muses of Fire

About the Book

In the midst of the Civil War, a Mississippi girl, accompanied by her doting boyfriend, escapes from her puritanical father and attempts to become a Shakespearean actress in New York City. Instead of finding the stardom she had expected, she is forced to accept morally degrading jobs and leaves her doting boyfriend in hopes of finding stardom elsewhere. In despair, the jilted boyfriend joins the Union Army and fights in some of the major battles of the Civil War. Meanwhile, a minister is having troubles of his own. When he speaks against slavery, he is forced to flee for his life. All roads lead to Richmond where the fates of all the characters, are at last decided.

About the Author

Vic Thompson was born in Orange, New Jersey and grew up in West Caldwell, about 20 miles from New York City. He is a retired Professor of English with a B.A. in English from Middlebury College and a Ph.D. from Rutgers University. He is the author of Eudora Welty: A Reference Guide and numerous scholarly articles and book reviews. In addition to writing academic work, he is a story teller. He won a state-wide award for his humor column in high school, and published a novel The Trumpets of Jericho: A Romantic Novel About Bands and Musicians in the American Civil War, and a collection of short stories, Safe at Home: Baseball and Other Forms of Life in a Small New Jersey town. In his spare time, he plays trumpet in the Chesterfield Concert Band, sings in the Virginians Barbershop Harmony society, and walks his dogs in the woods. He lives in Midlothian, Virginia with his wife Sharon and two dogs, Princess and Sylvia.