Too Much The Lion – Historical Fiction

TOO MUCH THE LION:
A Novel of the Battle of Franklin
By PRESTON LEWIS

Historical Fiction / Civil War Fiction
Publisher: Bariso Press
Pages: 395
Publication Date: May 13, 2025

*** SYNOPSIS ***

In the waning months of the American Civil War, a delusional Confederate commander makes a desperate attempt to change the course of the South’s dwindling hopes by invading middle Tennessee. The tragic result of Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood’s misplaced hubris devastates his Army of Tennessee and alters the lives of the citizens of Franklin, Tennessee.

In a historical novel reminiscent of The Killer Angels, Too Much the Lion follows a handful of Confederate generals, infantrymen, and local residents through the five days leading up to the horrific Battle of Franklin on November 30, 1864. The lives of soldiers ranging from Major General Patrick Cleburne to Brigadier General Hiram Granbury and from Sergeant Major Sumner Cunningham and to Corporal Sam Watkins will be forever changed by Hood’s decisions and mistakes.

Franklin civilians – like apprehensive and loving mother Mary Alice McPhail and teen Hardin Figuers, desperate to serve the Confederacy but too young to enlist, are ensnared in the events that will bring death and devastation to their very doorsteps. Devout Confederate Chaplain Charles T. Quintard must reconcile his religious beliefs with his support of slavery. Slaves like the elder Wiley Howard and the inquisitive young Henry B. Free are trapped on the fault line between what has been and what could be.

Too Much the Lion offers an unvarnished account of the dying days of the Confederacy in a powerful and moving narrative of honor and betrayal, bravery and cowardice, death and survival. Told with poignancy and honesty by an accomplished novelist, Too Much the Lion achieves for the Battle of Franklin what The Killer Angels did for the Battle of Gettysburg, providing a classic fictional account of one of the Civil War’s pivotal encounters.

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*** REVIEW ***

Another terrific historical novel from Preston Lewis. They just get better and better!

As a history buff, I always look forward to a new book from this author. His research is meticulous, and he clearly delineates between fact and fiction in every story. In Too Much The Lion, Lewis offers the lineup of all the major Confederate Army personnel involved in that infamous and tragic battle at Franklin, TN, showcasing the role each played, while highlighting the short-sightedness of Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood. His failures as a leader are well documented, and Lewis uses all that information to good effect in building his story to it’s inevitable and dramatic end.

Lewis effectively captured the anguish, despair, and fear the Confederate soldiers were experiencing toward the end of the war with this description of Sergeant Major Sumner Cunningham’s feelings as he walked along the shoulder of the Columbia Pike, “Cunningham concentrated on his stride, but the specter of death kept interrupting his thoughts. The muddy soil tugged at his feet, as if trying to pull him into the grave he knew awaited him.”

That sentiment was shared by so many of the foot soldiers who took the brunt of the war, and is a stark reminder of the cost of war that so many people overlook.

All the military history is fascinating, and nicely contrasts with the sections of the story that relate how families in Tennessee, as well as other battle sites, coped with the hardships brought on by war. Civilians suffered from lack of food, even though it was not as severe as the soldiers who too often marched with empty bellies on feet with no shoes. Families also lacked security as soldiers, both in blue and gray, would loot homes and smokehouses for basic necessities, and too often just because they could.

Details in the narrative of how Sunday services were often held in homes rather than people taking the risk of being on the road to go to a church, as well as children being taught at home for similar safety reasons, bring conditions to life, and I admired the plantation women who took off their white gloves to do whatever needed to be done. That highlights the important roles women have played in times of conflict, or any other great challenge, a truth that is important to acknowledge.

Those women are among the characters that I enjoyed reading about the most, but I must say that Henry B. Free, the young boy servant to the Reverend Quintard stole my heart. Henry is an old soul in the body of a seven-year-old, frequently challenging the Reverend on matters of ethics and morals. Regarding the subject of slavery, Henry is presented as the conscience in the narrative as illustrated in this quote. “I’s s’pose I’s knows de answer, Massa Revrund. Youse be’s de top rail, and I’s be de bottom rail, de one folks steps on first when dey climb de fence.”

While using that kind of dialect in contemporary fiction, would be considered an insult and discriminatory, it fits historical pieces. Still, I think just for readability some of it went too far, causing a hesitation in the reading so I could follow the lines of dialogue I understand what the characters, like Henry and Wiley Howard, were saying.

A small quibble for sure and not one that takes away the enjoyment of reading this book.

If historical fiction is high on your “favorite” list, or even if it isn’t, don’t miss this one. You won’t be sorry.

*** ABOUT THE AUTHOR ***

Preston Lewis is the award-winning author of some sixty western, historical, juvenile, and nonfiction works. In 2025, he was honored with the Will Rogers Medallion Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the literature of the American West. The Texas Institute of Letters in 2021 elected him to membership for his literary achievements.

Western Writers of America (WWA) has honored Lewis with three Spur Awards, one for best article, the second for best western novel and the third in 2025 for juvenile nonfiction. He has received ten Will Rogers Medallion Awards—six gold, two silver and two bronze—for written western humor, short stories, short nonfiction, and traditional Western novel.

Lewis is a past president of WWA and the West Texas Historical Association, which named him a fellow in 2016. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Baylor University and a master’s degree from Ohio State University, both in journalism. Additionally, he has a second master’s degree in history from Angelo State University.

He lives in San Angelo, Texas, with his wife Harriet Kocher Lewis.

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