SAVANNAH Or, A Gift For Mr. Lincoln

The Christmas of 1864 wasn't a merry one in Savannah, as the Union forces took control of the Confederate city. Tensions simmered between the Union forces and the defiant Southerners. Against this backdrop, widowed Sara Lester and her 12-year-old daughter, Hattie, take refuge in a friend's Savannah home, only to have a rough encounter with rogue Union foragers. The incident angers young Hattie and offends the Union occupiers, leading the girl to a confrontation with William Tecumseh Sherman. Dylan Baker, who knows his way around a Southern accent, puts a bit of exaggeration in his accents and characterizations to highlight the human comedy in this wartime conflict. His approach helps reveal the central characters in both the harsh light of a tense situation and, later, in the softer, warmer glow befitting a holiday season. J.A.S. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 05]