by Lisa Alther
First published 2008
Lisa Alther grew up in eastern Tennessee hearing warnings about the six-fingered Melungeons who supposedly stole bad children. These dark-skinned mountain people lived in Appalachian hills, facing discrimination and mystery about their origins. Years later, as a successful novelist, Alther noticed puzzling gaps in her own family history. Her grandmother founded the Virginia Club but never returned to Virginia. Her grandparents boasted about their colonial roots while staying silent about other family branches. Alther begins investigating whether her family connects to the Melungeons. She explores theories about their ancestry: Portuguese sailors, Romani refugees, Cherokee Indians, Lost Colony survivors, or Sephardic Jews. Her search takes her deep into Appalachian communities and colonial Southern history. The investigation becomes both a family mystery and an exploration of a forgotten people whose story reveals hidden truths about American identity and belonging.
Genres: historical-fiction, biography-memoir, 21st-century, family-drama, american-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-mystery, investigative-journalism
Setting: Appalachia, Tennessee, Virginia
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
215 pages · ebook · Open Road