New Review! A Parliament of Crows by Alan M. Clark

A Parliament of Crows by Alan M. Clark
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

5 CRANKY STARS


This is a well written work of historical fiction. It is based on the true story of the Wardlaw sisters who survived the Civil War and went on to commit many crimes. They never got over their father’s death and were mentally deranged in different ways. In this story, they are never fully aware that what they are doing is wrong. In their minds, they have a very good reason such as “it is to keep our family together”, “it is to protect the family”, “it is your duty to the family” etc. When tried for their crimes, they were fifty-nine and sixty-one.


Vertiline is the eldest of the three girls. Mary and Carolee are twins. All their lives, Mary and Carolee have wreaked havoc on the family. Carolee has an evil streak and somehow convinces Mary to do what she says. Having lost their mother at a young age, they had no proper guidance. Vertiline was charged with raising the twins when she was just fourteen years old and still a child herself. When a few years later, at the end of the War, their father passed away, Vertiline oversaw the twins on her own. First she dressed them all in black mourning clothes which they wore their entire life. Then she took them off to Virginia to their Aunt’s boarding school. Here, they all became teachers and worked for their Aunt. This is when the life of crime began. They inherited the boarding school only to find out they were over their heads in debt. Once they got rid of the school, off to New Jersey they went to try to live more simply while teaching in schools. Unfortunately, they were proper Southern women and never tried to accept Northern ways.


More crime sent them to New York City only to find they were out of money again. This fictional account of how they lived was very entertaining and riveting. The author has done a good job making the reader feel sympathetic towards these ladies.


View all my reviews