{"product_id":"simon-the-fiddler-paulette-jiles","title":"Simon the Fiddler * Paulette Jiles","description":"\u003cp\u003eConscripted into a Confederate regimental band in the final days of the Civil War, a talented young fiddler travels across Reconstruction-era Texas with a ragtag band of fellow musicians in hopes of earning enough money to buy land and reunite with the indentured Irish governess who stole his heart.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Story. Written by acclaimed poet and National Book Award finalist Paulette Jiles, this  serves as a warm, atmospheric companion novel to her bestseller News of the World. Set in Texas beginning in March 1865, the story follows twenty-three-year-old Simon Boudlin, a slight, red-haired orphan from Kentucky who has dodged military service until a barroom brawl lands him in a Confederate band. Just before the surrender, Simon is called to play at a gathering of Union and Confederate officers, where he becomes smitten with Doris Mary Dillon, a quiet Irish woman working as an indentured governess. When the war ends and Doris leaves with the colonel's family for San Antonio, Simon teams up with three fellow musicians - Doroteo, Damon, and Patrick - to play saloons, dance halls, and riverboats across a rough, changing frontier while writing letters and saving every coin to build a life together.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePerfect For. Historical fiction fans, book clubs, and readers drawn to lyrical, character-rich Westerns and music-infused stories alongside Paulette Jiles's News of the World, Enemy Women, and Chenneville, Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain, Cormac McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses, or Leif Enger's Peace Like a River.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePublished 2020 by William Morrow.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHistorical \u0026amp; Literary Fiction \/ 19th-Century American Historical Fiction \/ Post-Civil War \u0026amp; Reconstruction Texas \/ Western \u0026amp; Frontier Fiction \/ Music \u0026amp; Romance Narratives \/ Book Club Favorites\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ann Ehrenclou","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":69074796970227,"sku":"20261110007ABB","price":6.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0840\/5722\/7507\/files\/1000021212.jpg?v=1794436564","url":"https:\/\/purpleslothmedia.com\/products\/simon-the-fiddler-paulette-jiles","provider":"Purple Sloth Media","version":"1.0","type":"link"}