First published 2009
Newton Knight stands in the pine forests of Jones County, Mississippi, watching Confederate tax collectors seize his neighbors' crops. Poor farmers sacrifice their lives for wealthy planters' cotton while their families starve. Knight decides he has seen enough. He gathers white and black allies to fight back against the very government they once supported. His rebellion transforms Jones County into a pocket of resistance that declares independence from the Confederacy itself. Knight battles Confederate forces while navigating his complex personal life. His wife flees their home to escape retaliation. Rachel, a former slave, tends his wounds and becomes his partner in both war and love. Confederate soldiers hunt Knight through swamps and backwoods. Later, his own family seeks revenge for the shame he brought upon their name. This authentic account reveals the class warfare that split the South and exposes the myth of Confederate unity.
Genres: american-civil-war, american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, historical-romance, 19th-century, american-history
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Jones County, Mississippi
Period: 19th Century, American Civil War
402 pages · Hardcover · Doubleday
Content warnings: violence