Fortitude by Carrie Dalby – Review by Angela Hayes

Fortitude by Carrie Dalby
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fortitude is a superb story by Carrie Dalby. This is historical fiction at its best, something I have come to expect from Ms. Dalby. There is friendship, danger, romance, racism, secret love, intolerance, acceptance, drama, secrets, emotion, honour, and is a social and political snapshot of the times.
The story is set during the Spanish-American War, with Buffalo soldiers, the Jim Crow (segregation) laws, forbidden love, and the hardships, violence, and intolerance of the times. We follow Claire O’Farrell on her journey- with a Creole as her best friend and an idealistic nature, her choices in life conflict with the views of society at the time. Claire is strong, brave, strong, and full of faith- even when it puts her in danger. There were some sweet scenes, as well as more heart-wrenching, emotive, intense and chilling moments- which all served to kept me flipping the pages to find out what would happen. The story was definitely thought-provoking!
I love the way Ms. Dalby is able to build vivid images with her words, bringing her story and characters to life and allowing us, the readers to fully immerse ourselves in the story. Her attention to detail is brilliant!
The characters were really well crafted- given their own complex personalities that gave them believability. I always enjoy anything historical, if it’s done well- which this book certainly was!
Looking forward to more from Ms. Dalby.

Thank you, Ms. Dalby!

Reviewed by @angelahayes

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