Janet Stevenson (1913–2009)

An old-fashioned kind of novel, Weep No More is based on the historical character of Elizabeth Van Lew, a Southern abolitionist living in Richmond. A spinster, Van Lew brought food and other necessities to the Union soldiers imprisoned at Libby Prison; she also gathered and passed along information. In Stevenson’s telling, she feigns madness as a cover for her activities. Pure of intention, she is repeatedly frustrated by the incompetence and slow speed of those on whose side she works. Meanwhile, she falls in love with a Union officer whom she helps to escape. I found much of the latter half of the book hard to follow, as it centers on military maneuvers, but the story was nonetheless compelling in its contrasts of personality: spymaster Scarborough, practical, tough, and cruel, versus General Winder, a true Southern gentleman; Elizabeth versus her sister-in-law Lydia, with the former’s loyalty, courage, and intelligence pitted against the latter’s petulance and self-absorption. Elizabeth’s romance with Will, too, is as much as clash as a coming together as they doubt each other, misunderstand each other—and try not to let the other down. The ending is poignant and moving and treats big ideas seriously. It is also, by and large, an idealistic novel; Elizabeth’s worldview seems to be endorsed by the novel even though she is often disappointed.… (meer)