Historical Fiction
By: Michael Strickland
The Red Cotton Fields is a sweeping historical epic that begins on a Georgia plantation in 1850 and concludes in the gold fields of Australia in 1884. The narrative follows the intertwined lives of three southern families, including the plantation overseer’s family and a Negro slave family, through the tumultuous years leading up to and during the Civil War. Central to the story are Bart Royal, the overseer’s son, and Reiner Washington, an escaped slave, whose journeys from the ruins of the plantation to immense wealth are paralleled by a poignant love story between Bart and Holly Ballaster, the plantation owner’s daughter. This compelling tale captures the essence of resilience, ambition, and forbidden love, promising to become a timeless classic.
