Simon the Fiddler: A Novel

Paulette Jiles

Apr 2020 · Sold by HarperCollins

About this ebook

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.

In March 1865, the long and bitter War between the States is winding down. 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. But following a barroom brawl in Victoria, Texas, Simon finds himself conscripted, however belatedly, into the Confederate Army. Luckily his talent with a fiddle gets him a comparatively easy position in a regimental band.

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. 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.

After the surrender, Simon and Doris go their separate ways. He will travel around Texas seeking fame and fortune as a musician. She must accompany the colonel’s family to finish her three years of service. But Simon cannot forget the fair Irish maiden, and vows that someday he will find her again.

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.

"Jiles’ sparse but lyrical writing is a joy to read. . . . Lose yourself in this entertaining tale.” — Associated Press

Ratings and reviews

I received a free trade paperback ARC of this excellent historical novel from Goodreads, Paulette Jiles, and William Morrow publishers. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. Paulette Jiles is on my must-read author list, she is a novelist/poet/memoirist who always hits one out of the ballpark. The subjects of her works are so versatile that the only thing they have in common is an unputdownable binge read, and a yearning for more books, immediately. This novel takes place just before the last battle of our Civil War, in southern Texas. Simon managed to avoid conscription on both sides of the War, mainly because of his small stature, boyish looks, and quick retreats as necessary. When he is caught by the Confederate conscription men in March of 1865 at a gig in Victoria, Texas, 23-year-old Simon Boudlin, a native of Paducah, Kentucky, is added to their role by the name of Simon Walters - hopefully, folks looking for him will tire of the chore before they get to the 'W's. Fortunately, he is captured while playing his treasured violin, and so he is added to the Confederate military band and is able to keep and protect the Markneukirche violin he treasures so. It took him years to save enough to puy that fiddle. After the official surrender, Simon is part of a military band made up of both US and Dixie soldiers and including a French military man who wandered up from the Mexican War who's main contribution to music is a tuneful hum. With a little practice, they make beautiful music together, and the Markneukirche has never sounded better. The violin is Simon's first love - until he meets indentured Irish governess, Doris Mary Dillon, in the employ of Colonel Webb with time still to go on her 3 years of servitude she agreed to before Colonel Webb paid for her passage to America. Though they have barely spoken, they both feel an instant bonding and cannot imagine how they will meet again, but know they must. We wander at will with Simon, as he plays with pickup bands and the core of the military band at war's end. Stashing as much as he can of his share of the gigs, Trying and often succeeding to stay out of trouble, Simon begins looking at land purchases. A man must have land to fulfill his dreams. Rumor has it that Colonel Webb and family have been assigned to the fort located at the Alamo outside San Antonio, TX, and Simon is slowly but surely making his way north and west. The journey is exciting, the picture of central and hill country Texas is spot on and her best view even today, and the pain and joy following the ending of the Civil War are portrayed in living color. This is a book to treasure. It is one I would have loved to read to my Mom. One I will read again, in time, as Jiles is great on a first read, but a true treasure on every additional trip into her world.

A traditional ballad of life and love, an adventurous romance , lyrical and engrossing. In short,a great read for a lazy weekend.

AÀA BOSS NETWORK

About the author

Paulette Jiles is a novelist, poet, and memoirist. She is the author of Cousins, a memoir, and the novels Enemy Women, Stormy Weather, The Color of Lightning, Lighthouse Island, Simon the Fiddler, and News of the World, which was a finalist for the 2016 National Book Award. She lives on a ranch near San Antonio, Texas.