From the celebrated author of Rubyfruit  Jungle and Bingo   comes a stirring novel of the Civil War, a tale of  true love and mistaken identity. Brimming with  colorful characters and vivid settings, High  Hearts is Rita Mae Brown at her most  ambitious and entertaining.

April 12,  1861. Bright, gutsy and young,Geneva Chatfield  marries Nash Hart in Albemarle County, Virginia, the  same day Fort Sumter's guns fire the start of the  Civil War. Five days later she loses him as Nash  joins the Confederate Army. Geneva, who is known  as the best rider since Light Horse Harry Lee,  cuts her hair, dons a uniform, enlists as "Jimmy  Chatfield," then rides off to be with her  beloved Nash. But sensitive Nash recoils in horror  from the violence of war, while Geneva is  invigorated by the chase and the fight. Can she be all the  man her husband isn't? She'll sure as hell try.  But there is a complication, and his name is Major  "Mars" Vickers. This macho major, to his own  shock and amazement, finds himself inexplicably  attracted to the young soldier named "Jimmy."  And this is only the beginning of a novel that  moves with sureness and grace from the ferocity of  battle to the struggle on the homefront, and brings  passion and sly humor to a story of dawning love.   High Hearts is a penetrating,  delightful and sweeping tale that gives fresh life to a  fascinating  time


From the Paperback edition.