The Hinterlands - Softcover

Morgan, Robert

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0895871785 ISBN 13: 9780895871787

Publisher: John F Blair Publisher, 1999

Synopsis

Robert Morgan's first novel skillfully weaves Appalachian oral tradition about such things as prowling panthers, outlaws, and marauding Cherokees into a "tale in three parts." The first part centers on Petal Richards, who as a young bride leaves her family to accompany her husband into the mountains in search of a new frontier. In the second part, Petal's grandson, Solomon, describes how he surveyed the best route down the mountain in preparation for building the region's first road. In the third part, Solomon's son David, tells of building the first turnpike through the wilderness.

About this title

From the Back Cover

First order of business for the pioneers was finding their way. After that came marking, then clearing, and finally paving that way. Axing wilderness inroads inch-by-inch, linking settlement with settlement - this was the challenge. The Hinterlands is the story of a family who found, marked, and paved their way into America's eastern frontier. Unfolding in the voices of three generations of mountaineer storytellers who specialize in keeping listeners on the edge of their seats, this is fiction that plunks us down right into the thick of pioneer life. In 1772, an adventurous teenager named Petal ran off with a handsome homesteader on his way to the new frontier in Tennessee. Decades later, Petal spins a hair-raising tale for her grandchildren. She includes all the grittiest details of setting up housekeeping with what she carried from home on her back, of birthing her first baby while staving off a panther, of living in the middle of nowhere - with nary a known neighbor. In 1816, Petal's grandson Solomon and a starved pig named Sue tracked the best route down off the mountain to market. He tells his grandson of his panther, not forgetting to mention his run-ins with snakes and spiders, with thorny thickets and what was hidden within them. In 1845, Solomon's son David, inheritor of the family bent for roadbuilding, took on linking two mountains with a turnpike. Despite one mountain's mighty efforts to stop him, his feat marked the beginning of the wilderness's end. Based on the author's own family stories, The Hinterlands is both rollicking folk history and riveting adventure fiction. Robert Morgan's three gifted storytellers tell it like it was - and with a vengeance!

Synopsis

Robert Morgan's first novel unfolds through the voices of three generations of Appalachian storytellers. In the first segment, adventurous teenager Petal runs off with a handsome homesteader in 1772. She tells of setting up housekeeping on the frontier, including the story of birthing her first baby while staving off a panther. In 1816, Petal's grandson uses a starved pig to track the best route for building a route down the mountain to market. In 1845, Petal's grandson constructs the turnpike down the mountain.

About this edition

• Publisher: John F Blair Publisher
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0895871785
• ISBN 13: 9780895871787
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352