House Divided

When the Civil War breaks out, the five grown children of a prominent Confederate family in Virginia discover a secret about their father: he is the grandfather of Abraham Lincoln. Their story unfolds against the early, uncertain months of the conflict.

Williams follows both soldiers and civilians across the family's circle and into the generations that follow. Their pride, ambition and arrogance appear alongside their patience, courage and cleverness, so the characters read as flawed people rather than symbols. The author was a grandnephew of General James Longstreet, and his background gives the book a close view of the Southern aristocracy at war.

The novel shows war as a long sickness that leaves every nation changed, whether it wins or loses. First published in 1947, it became a bestseller and is often compared to a large-scale epic of the American conflict.