At the Moon's Inn (Library of Alabama Classics) - Softcover

Lytle, Andrew

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0817355499 ISBN 13: 9780817355494

Publisher: University Alabama Press, 2010

Synopsis

At the Moon's Inn, first published in 1941, provides a fictional account of De Soto's famous Spanish expedition to La Florida and through the southeastern United States between 1539 and 1543. The novel begins in Spain in 1538, where De Soto and his chief lieutenants, veterans of the campaigns in South America, pledge themselves to a new enterprise to explore and exploit La Florida. The narrative follows them on their voyage to Cuba, where they rest and obtain additional supplies, then set sail for the area now known as Tampa Bay. Lytle's brilliant historical novel takes the readers with the conquistadores through the hot, humid land, where despite their advantage in military technology they found they must rely on the Indians for food. The author explores the cultural confrontation that seriously weakened the Indians, while the Spaniards' dreams of gold gradually turned to hopes of survival in the hostile environment.

Drawing his facts from the 1939 United States De Soto Commission Report and from the surviving historical chronicles of the expedition, Lytle weaves a fascinating tale that brings to life the history of Spanish efforts to establish a controlling presence in the New World during the first half of the 16th century.

In his introduction, Douglas Jones places At the Moon's Inn within the context of the documentary record, as well as within the framework of its distinguished author's career.

About this title

About the Author

Andrew Lytle served as the editor of the Sewanee Review from 1961 to 1973 and is the author of many short works and other novels, including The Long Night.

Review

“ Nobody in modern fiction is better than Lytle with battle scenes, a lesson learned well in his biography of Forrest and practiced with convincing effect not only in The Long Night but also in At the Moon’s Inn.”—John Tyree Fain, “Segments of southern Renaissance”

"Lytle has an extraordinary feeling for the sound and shape of a period. He has re-created the conquistadors . . . and at the same time has told a credible and exciting tale of human endeavor and defeat."
--The New Yorker

"Andrew Lytle, the potent novelist of The Long Night, At the Moon's Inn, A Name for Evil, and The Velvet Horn [has written] titles never to be forgotten, if we are allowed to find them."
--The National Review

Edition details

• Publisher: University Alabama Press
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0817355499
• ISBN 13: 9780817355494
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 406