Shelby Foote
American historian and novelist whose three-volume The Civil War: A Narrative is the most literary account of the American Civil War. Written over twenty years with the ambition of a Tolstoy novel, it made him famous through Ken Burns's documentary series. He brought a novelist's sensibility to historical narrative.
Works
- ShilohNovel depicting the Battle of Shiloh through multiple perspectives and personal stories
- TournamentNovel set in Mississippi's Civil War era, following competing male ambitions and desires
- Follow Me DownNovel about a Mississippi plantation family during Reconstruction and its aftermath
- Love in a Dry SeasonNovel set in the Depression-era South exploring passion, class, and moral compromise
- Jordan CountyNovel interweaving stories from a fictional Mississippi county spanning two centuries
- The Civil War: A NarrativeThree-volume epic history of the American Civil War, meticulously researched and narrated
- September SeptemberNovel following a man awaiting execution, exploring memory and a lifetime of regret