The Disagreement

A Novel

By: Nick Taylor

Narrated by: William Dufris

It is April 17, 1861 - the day Virginia secedes from the Union and the 16th birthday of John Alan Muro. As the Commonwealth erupts in celebration, young Muro sees his dream of attending medical school in Philadelphia shattered by the sudden reality of war.

Muro's father, believing that the Disagreement will pass, sends his son instead to Charlottesville. Jefferson's 40-year-old University of Virginia has become a haven of rogues and dilettantes, among them Muro's roommate, Braxton Baucom III, a planter's son who attempts to strike a resemblance to General "Stonewall" Jackson. Though the pair toasts lightheartedly "To our studies!" with a local corn whiskey known as "The Bumbler", the war effort soon exerts a sobering influence. Medical students like Muro are pressed into service at the Charlottesville General Hospital, where the inexperienced Dr. Muro saves the life of a Northern lieutenant, earning the scorn of his peers.

As the war progresses, Muro takes up yet another cause - winning the affections of the beguiling Miss Lorrie Wigfall. Here, too, Muro faces a cunning adversary. Just as the fighting is closing in, Muro is forced to make a choice that will shape the rest of his life.

©2008 Nick Taylor (P)2008 Tantor

Critic reviews

"A dazzling debut novel....Nick Taylor arrives on the literary scene like a cross between Stephen Crane and F. Scott Fitzgerald - with the sensibility of Charles Frazier. Seductive, authentic, and unforgettable, The Disagreement is an instant classic." (Ian Caldwell, author of Rule of Four)