Tilden O Atwell

Our Own Private War, 1942 Tilden O Atwell

The story of the Batsons and the Stevens is the story of two families who clashed over the ownership of three cattails. It is a tiny clash that turns into a war between the two groups, and each encounter turns into a more disastrous one and finally threatens a really tragic outcome. It is a story of how small acts of revenge can lead to ever more serious ones and even tragedy until someone finally has the power to forgive. It is played out against the background of World War II Annapolis when families were quite different in many ways from the ones we have today.