A Dream of Kings (novel)
A Dream of Kings is a historical novel by Davis Grubb, published in 1955. It follows the life of Tom Christopher during the American Civil War in Virginia, a region that later becomes West Virginia, and on Civil War battlefields from 1855 to 1864.
Tom lives with his Aunt Sarah and a girl named Cathi (Catherine Ellen Hornbrook). Cathi’s father, Abijah Hornbrook, never appears in the story, but his voice and ideas influence what happens. In the novel, the “dream of kings” is the Confederacy, which Abijah describes in letters as a time of kings and a new nation formed by the gentlemen who founded it.
Tom fights under Stonewall Jackson. After Jackson dies, Tom deserts and returns to West Virginia, where he falls in love with Cathi.
The book was well received; Time magazine praised Grubb for writing with emotional conviction and lyric intensity, calling the novel an authentic and haunting experience.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 10:08 (CET).