March by Geraldine Brooks (2005) is a fabulous novel about the father of the March girls made famous in the beloved novel Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.
Mr. March is absent throughout most of Alcott’s novel and Brooks has picked-up the ball and run with it; filling-in the missing story of the absent father and his experiences prior to his marriage and through the civil war where he served as a Chaplin for the Union Army.
I think this is an incredibly well-written novel. I wonder why it never came to my attention, but how grateful I am it has.
Bookwinked 
Geraldine Brooks is a brilliant writer, I have this on my shelf too! 🙂 Little Women’s a great favourite and I’m always on the hunt for related books.