172. Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All by Allan Gurganus

The phrase ‘oldest living confederate widow’ came to Allan Gurganus in the form of a newspaper headline — he had merely to add ‘tells all’ and the title was ready for dispatch. It was 1981, and Gurganus was staying at the Yaddo artists’ retreat in New York State while working on his novel The Erotic History of a Southern Baptist Church (Mr Gurganus has an eye for titles). On his way to the swimming-pool one day he spied the newspaper in the foyer and, despite already having put in a good days’ work, ran immediately back to his room to type the ninety-nine-year-old Lucy Marsden’s confessions. In 1981 there were indeed still living confederate widows, having married ex-soldiers at young ages: the last widow, Daisy Cave, who married her husband in 1919 when she was in her twenties and he 75, survived into the early 1990s.

Consulted:
Gee, Robin: Novel and Short Story Writer's Market (1991)

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