Andersonville (novel)
| Company type | Novel |
|---|---|
| Industry | Literature |
| Founded | 1955 |
| Founder | MacKinlay Kantor |
| Products | Fiction book |
Andersonville is a novel authored by MacKinlay Kantor that centers on the Confederate prisoner of war camp known as Andersonville during the American Civil War (1861–1865). Released in 1955, the book earned the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1956.
Although Kantor sold the rights for a film adaptation in the 1950s, no movie based on this novel was ever produced. The 1996 film titled Andersonville has no connection to Kantor's work.
Plot summary
The narrative combines accounts of both historical and fictional individuals, presented through various viewpoints, including that of Henry Wirz, the camp’s commandant who was later executed for war crimes. Central to the story is William Collins, a Union soldier who leads the "Raiders," a group that exploits other prisoners amidst extreme hunger and illness. Additional characters include common inmates, the camp physician, nearby plantation owners, guards, and civilians from the Confederacy.
Drawing heavily from prisoner memoirs—particularly Andersonville: A Story of Rebel Military Prisons by John McElroy—the novel depicts Wirz not simply as a merciless antagonist but as a deeply conflicted man overwhelmed by his responsibilities.
Characters in Andersonville
The novel features several historical personalities such as:
- Henry Wirz (Confederate camp commander)
- John McElroy (Union prisoner and memoir writer)
- William Collins (Union prisoner and leader of the "Raiders," executed by fellow inmates)
- Boston Corbett (Union prisoner later known for killing John Wilkes Booth)
- John Winder (Confederate general in charge of prisoner management)
- John L. Ransom (1843–1919) (Union prisoner and diarist from Jackson, Michigan)
- Robert Hall Chilton (Confederate Inspector General who investigated conditions at Andersonville)
Criticism
The novel encountered opposition from school boards due to its explicit language. In 1967, a parent at Amherst High School condemned the book as "1 percent history and 99 percent filth," demanding the removal of the teacher who assigned it; nonetheless, it remained available as an optional reading choice.
Additionally, Andersonville was prohibited in four high schools and Amarillo College in Amarillo, Texas.
References
Bibliography
Commager, Henry Steele. "The Last Full Measure of Devotion: A Novel of an Infamous Prison in the Civil War", The New York Times Book Review. Oct. 30, 1955. VII, p. 1.
Cullen, Jim. The Civil War in Popular Culture. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington: 1995.
Hesseltine, William B. "Andersonville Revisited." The Georgia Review, 1956, p 92-100.
Kantor, Mackinlay. "The Last Full Measure of Devotion: The Author Tells How He Relived the Tragedy", The New York Times Book Review. Oct. 30, 1955. VII, p. 1.
Kantor, Mackinlay, Andersonville. Penguin Books USA, Inc., New York : 1955.
Poore, Charles. "Andersonville (Review)." The New York Times. Oct. 27, 1955, p. 31:4.
Stuckey, W. J. The Pulitzer Prize Novels : A Critical Backward Look. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman: 1981.