I wrote a much better review after I finished this and could remember it, but alas, it is still possible for one to disappear here. I was drawn to this book, which I received as an ARC in exchange for an honest review, because it featured actual historical figures, which I enjoy. And I did enjoy, but I think the author could have blended the points of view together better, it felt like there was an abrupt switch from Whitman to Alcott. Whitman came across at times as though speaking in a fever dream, and rather an odd duck, but of course, that may have have been exactly the case. My apologies to the author that my memory faded and I could not describe in better detail some of the finer details of his work - he certainly appears to be quite prolific and must know his history! ( )

I previously read Lock's "A Boy Winter" which was a time traveling tale of Huck Finn (and more heavily focused on racism than Twain's original tale). It was excellent. I was excited about Voices in the Dead House, with a take on Walt Whitman and Louisa May Alcott.

Maybe it was the fact that it was focused on the authors instead of their works or that it was less overall fantastical, but it didn't hold the same spark. For sure, the first section on Whitman left me struggling to get through it. Whitman just was portrayed as a egotistical creep (I haven't read any biographies about him...maybe that's the case). Alcott's part — the second half of the book — was much more enjoyable. I'm glad it came second, because in a reverse order without hope for something better would have made the Whitman section that much harder to get through.

Alcott's section showed more wit, more depth to the character, more reason for being. Whitman's seemed repetitive with going over his negative attributes. ( )

This interesting historical fiction is set in Washington, D.C., in the brief period between mid-December, 1862, and January 21, 1863. Poet Walt Whitman and author Louisa May Alcott were both in the city at that time, helping in Civil War hospitals. Alcott worked as a nurse at Union Hotel Hospital in Georgetown, until she had to quit a little over a month later due to contracting typhoid. Whitman had originally gone to Fredericksburg, Virginia, to check on his wounded brother George, but starting in late December, volunteered as a visitor and wound-dresser at Armory Square Hospital (and others). Although there's no documentation the two met or even knew of the other, they could have crossed paths during Alcott's short time there, and that is the premise of the novel.

The first 140 pages are told in Whitman's voice, the next 112 in Alcott's, followed by brief (2-3 pages) final sections for each. The novel is inspired by Alcott's book Hospital Sketches and some of Whitman's poetry, particularly "The Wound-Dresser," according to author Norman Lock. He incorporates some of the events from Alcott's book, as well as lines from some of Whitman's other poems ("The Sleepers" and "Come Up from the the Fields, Father") and Whitman's book Memoranda During the War. Whitman and Alcott encounter real people (such as photographers Mathew Brady and Alexander Gardner, and nurse Dorothea Dix) and places (such as the White House, Ford's Theater, and the Naval Observatory). In an afterword, the author explains who and what is fact and fiction in his novel.

I do think it would help the reader to be somewhat familiar with both authors and their works mentioned above before reading this book. I've been an Alcott fan since childhood, so I enjoyed her part of the book more, and I feel Lock has captured her personality quite well. This book has inspired me to read Whitman's Leaves of Grass (referred to frequently in his section) and Memoranda During the War, as well as Hospital Sketches, one of the few Alcott works I haven't yet read. I'd also like to read more of Lock's American Novels stand-alone series. ( )

I did not enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. I found the narrative of the book to be very choppy and it didn't seem to have a natural flow to it. I was expecting Whitman's and Alcott's stories to be more intertwined and they are presented in the novel as two separate stories. The author mentions in the afterward that he tried to emulate the style of Whitman and Alcott in their respective sections and this he did quite well. The voice used throughout the book is very reminiscent of the voice used in their respective works. ( )

Voices in the Dead House is a novel about Walt Whitman and Louisa May Alcott working in hospitals for the Civil War wounded in Washington, DC, in December 1862 and January 1863. Although it is fiction, it is based on facts. The novel is basically in two parts telling about Whitman and then Alcott with a very short section about Whitman at the end. The hospital working experiences of these two authors are described, plus their thoughts about the conditions and literature. They both have some interactions with Negroes; Alcott even attends a church service with a Negro woman. Both sections talk about other literary authors, whom Whitman and Alcott know. The reader would most appreciate this novel if he/she was familiar with Whitman and Alcott and their lives. I found the section on Alcott especially appealing since I already knew a great deal about her life.

The novel covers such a short amount of time since Alcott was only there for a few months before she became seriously ill. Reading this novel makes me want to read "Hospital Sketches," her nonfiction book about her experiences there.

Fortunately, in the Afterword, Mr. Lock tells what is fact and what is fiction in his novel. With historical novels about people, this is something I always wonder about if the author does not give this information. ( )