Love & Duty: Confederate Widows and the Emotional Politics of Lost

Abstract

Angela Esco Elder explores the emotions of Confederate widows in Love & Duty: Confederate Widows and the Emotional Politics of Loss. Not only does Elder reveals Confederate widows’ multifarious emotions but also how the Confederate state exploited their grief to advance the Confederate cause. Esco’s Love & Duty “adds to the growing history of emotions during the Civil War,” and will become required reading for those interested in southern women and emotionality, writes reviewer Daniel Kotzin.