Simon The Fiddler by Paulette Jiles

 

Simon Boudlin has one talent to make his way in the world.  It's 1865 and he was only conscripted in the last few weeks of the war where his ability with the fiddle put him in the regimental band.  Now the war is done although only after one last bloody unnecessary battle fought only so a Yankee officer could claim credit.  Simon slips away rather than stay with the tatters of the Confederate army.  

He soon meets up with three other men in his same situation; musicians who have left the military rather than stay.  They start to play together in bars and at parties.  At one party, Simon sees an indentured Irish girl, Doris Dillion.  Simon is entranced with her but knows she has years to serve and he has nothing to offer.  As her household leaves the city, he stands on the side of the road and plays a love song to her.

Life is hard and the men barely scrape by.  The youngest boy is also Irish and Simon writes to Doris as the boy, giving news from home and starting a conversation he hopes will lead to marriage.  Simon plans to buy land and farm and he wants Doris by his side.  But the two are separated by miles of Texas land and poverty and legal obligations.  Simon and his crew travel from city to city with Simon saving all his money to purchase land.  He knows somehow he will find his Irish girl and make her his.

This is a lovely historical fiction that shows the difficulty of life after the Civil War and how hard it was to make a living.  There is lots of opportunity for a man who will work in the territories and its a perfect time to reinvent oneself.  Tensions still remain from the war and laws are uncertain and legal business such as buying land is shaky without the infrastructure to support it.  Simon decides to marry Doris after only seeing her once or twice and quick relationships were the norm at such an unsettled time.  Readers will be interested to read about life in this time period and cheer on Simon's pursuit of Doris.  This book is recommended for readers of historical fiction.