A Land Remembered

This quintessential historical fiction book on Old Florida was both a nominee of the Pulitzer, and the Nobel Prize in Literature. Rich in history and unforgettable characters, the story follows the MacIveys, as they scrap out a living as dirt farmers, beginning in the mid-1800s, through the 1960s. Not hurricanes, the Civil War, freezes, or near-starvation can staunch the family’s resilience, ultimately allowing them to build a great fortune. This novel truly touches my heart as my family came from Georgia, with little in their pockets, in the early 20th century, seeking to fulfill their own dreams. This is… show more.

With its 19th-century Florida setting, this novel is the one most closely related to my own book and the only one of my five recommendations that I read after writing it. A Land Remembered is a book about trying to make a living in an unpredictable environment. Although there is a genre called the Cracker Western, Reconstruction-era Florida has long been overlooked as a setting for historical novels. What with its carpetbaggers, cattle drives, and orange and phosphate booms, it offers plenty of fertile ground.