Fathers and daughters · Fiction · Historical Fiction
March by Geraldine Brooks — Summary, Key Ideas & Quotes
2005304 pages✦ 3-min Big ideas★ 3.8 (4)
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What is March about?
An extraordinary novel woven out of the lore of American history—by the author of the international bestseller Year of WondersFrom Louisa May Alcott’s beloved classic Little Women, Geraldine Brooks has animated the character of the absent father, March, and crafted a story "filled with the ache of love and marriage and with the power of war upon the mind and heart of one unforgettable man" (Sue Monk Kidd). With"pitch-perfect writing" (USA Today), Brooks follows March as he leaves behind his family to aid the Union cause in the Civil War. His experiences will utterly change his marriage and challenge his most ardently held beliefs. A lushly written, wholly original tale steeped in the details of another time, March secures Geraldine Brooks’s place as a renowned author of historical fiction.
A glimpse inside
Reimagining a Literary Absence
Geraldine Brooks takes the shadowy figure of Mr. March from Little Women and transforms him into a fully realized protagonist. By doing so, she not only fills the narrative gap left by Louisa May Alcott but also explores how absence and silence can shape a family. March’s journey reveals the cost of ideals and the personal toll of being both a husband and a father who is physically and emotionally distant.
The Corrosive Power of War
March is a meditation on the psychological and moral devastation wrought by the Civil War. Through March’s eyes, readers witness the brutality, confusion, and ethical dilemmas of battle—not just on the field, but in the soul. Brooks shows how war can erode even the most ardent convictions, forcing individuals to confront their own capacity for compromise, guilt, and survival.
Ratings at a glance
Open Library
★ 3.8 / 5
4 ratings
✦
Get smart in 3 min
6 key ideas, distilled
- 1Reimagining a Literary Absence
- 2The Corrosive Power of War
- 3Idealism Versus Reality
- 4Marriage Under Strain
- 5Race, Slavery, and Moral Complicity
Popular quotes from March
“What we choose to fight is so tiny! What fights with us is so great.”
More by Geraldine Brooks
Frequently asked
An extraordinary novel woven out of the lore of American history—by the author of the international bestseller Year of WondersFrom Louisa May Alcott’s beloved classic Little Women, Geraldine Brooks has animated the character of the absent father, March, and crafted a story "filled with the ache of love and marriage and with the power of war upon the mind and heart of one unforgettable man" (Sue Mo