Journal of a Georgia Woman, 1870-1872 by Eliza Frances Andrews

This mystery, set in the immediate postwar south, revolves around the romance between Audley Malvern and Ruth Harfleur and their attempts to discover the secret of Ruth's parents and the unusual ring she wears. Her first novel, A Family Secret (1876), quickly became a bestseller. A second article on women's life and fashions appeared in Godey's Lady's Book the following year.

After her retirement from teaching, she published two textbooks on botany.Īndrews' literary career began in 1865 with an article on Reconstruction in Georgia published in the New York World.

Andrews then returned home to Washington to teach botany in the public high school.

She served as principal of the Girl's High School in Yazoo City, Mississippi, later became principal of a girl's seminary in Washington, Georgia, and from 1885 to 1896 taught French and literature at the Wesleyan Female College in Macon, Georgia. There she met Jefferson Davis on his flight from his pursuers.Īfter her father's death in 1873, Andrews began teaching school. In March 1865 Andrews returned to Washington, Georgia, to witness the fall of the Confederacy. Occasionally she lapses into girlish concerns, reporting all the compliments she received on her appearance, but her natural skepticism always rescues her and the diary from silliness. Andrews' fine eye for detail gives the reader a fascinating portrait of social life in the rural Confederacy. Once at their sister's, however, the two girls enjoyed a round of visits and parties, strangely gay for a time of political and military disintegration. Andrews and a younger sister had to travel over rough, partially destroyed roads, with the ever-present fear of ambush by Sherman's men. In December 1864, Andrews began her diary, published as The War-time Journal of a Georgia Girl (1908), with an account of a trip to visit her sister near Albany, Georgia. Although he permitted three of his sons to join the Confederate army, he did not tolerate the secessionist views of his daughters, which led to many family arguments. When Georgia seceded from the Union in January 1861, Andrews' father achieved notoriety for his uncompromising opposition to secession and his subsequent refusal to support the new Confederacy. Andrews attended the Washington Seminary for Girls and graduated in the first class from the LaGrange Female College in 1857. Southern standards, owning about 200 slaves. Born 10 August 1840, Washington, Georgia died 21 January 1931, Rome, Georgiaĭaughter of Garnett and Annulet Ball AndrewsĮliza Frances Andrews was born at Haywood, the plantation home of her parents.

Journal of a Georgia Woman, 1870-1872 by Eliza Frances Andrews