If you like historical novels, may I suggest THE HANDSOME ROAD, by Gwen Bristow?

[raccoon]

Published in 1937 or thereabouts.

It's set in Louisiana, and tells the story of two women, one the daughter of a wealthy plantation owner, and one a poor white woman.
It goes through the Civil War and Reconstruction.

The poor white woman character, Corrie May Upjohn, is very bright and sees through the nonsense put forth by TPTB. If she were a real person, and alive today, no doubt she would be on DU!

[TNDemo]

1. Thanks. I bookmarked those.

Always glad to get a book recommendation.

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. apparently this is one of a triliogy.

"Plantation Trilogy":

* Deep Summer (1937), ISBN 0-89966-025-8
* The Handsome Road (1938), ISBN 0-89966-028-2
* This Side of Glory (1940), ISBN 0-89966-026-6


I will for them on my swap sites.
Always on the lookout for good southern writers.

[raccoon]

3. Thanks, Dixie. I've read them all, and IMO THE HANDSOME ROAD is the best.

THIS SIDE OF GLORY deals with WWI era. At least the Spanish flu epidemic occurred in the book.

[yellowdogintexas]

5. I read those and loved them.Very good

I think I read some other stuff of hers too.

[SheilaT]

4. I'm glad someone else piped in

to let you know it's part of a trilogy.

I've read all of those books several times -- everything by Gwen Bristow, as a matter of fact. I think what I liked best was that the third one, This Side of Glory, was written not all that long after the events take place. So there's an immediacy of how people think and respond, especially in terms of race relations, that I have always liked.

Another good book of hers is Jubilee Trail, which I read recently. And I was actually reading the part where the characters stop for a while (while on their way to California in 1845 or so) in Santa Fe and stay for a bit at a hotel on the Plaza named La Fonda. There is today a hotel with that exact name more recently built again from the ground floor up. The really amazing coincidence was that at that exact time I had an interview for an administrative assistant job to the manager of today's hotel. Didn't get the job, but it was kind of nice.

[TuxedoKat]

6. Thanks

I'm always looking for good historical fiction. I will check this out.