The Second Mrs. Hockaday: A Novel - Softcover

Rivers, Susan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1616207361 ISBN 13: 9781616207366

Publisher: Algonquin Books, 2017

Synopsis

When Major Gryffth Hockaday is called to the front lines of the Civil War, his new bride is left to care for her husband’s three-hundred-acre farm and infant son. Placidia, a mere teenager herself living far from her family and completely unprepared to run a farm or raise a child, must endure the darkest days of the war on her own. By the time Major Hockaday returns two years later, Placidia is bound for jail, accused of having borne a child in his absence and murdering it. What really transpired in the two years he was away? A love story, a story of racial divide, and a story of the South as it fell in the war, The Second Mrs. Hockaday reveals how this generation—and the next—began to see their world anew.

About this title

From the Author:

Susan Rivers was awarded the Julie Harris Playwriting Award for Overnight Lows and the New York Drama League Award for Under Statements. She is also the recipient of two playwriting grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. She holds an MFA in fiction writing and lives in South Carolina. The Second Mrs. Hockaday is her first novel. Find her online at www.susanriverswriter.com.

From the Back Cover:

“Spellbinding . . .Haunting.”*

“I gobbled up this book in one sitting, wishing I could slow down and savor the prose but too eager to find out what happened. Rivers is an unflinching truth teller. Her characters are deeply human, drawn with compassion and exquisite detail.” —Hillary Jordan, author of Mudbound

“Told through exquisitely crafted letters and diary entries. The delicious pacing leads to revelations both intriguing and unnerving. I was sorry to reach the end of this stunning debut.” —*Diane Chamberlain, author of The Silent Sister

“With The Second Mrs. Hockaday, Susan Rivers viscerally evokes a bygone era without sentimentality. Her deeply sympathetic characters cope with the hard truths of slavery and war, maintaining their humanity and capability for redemption throughout. A thoroughly engrossing and affecting read.” —Alice LaPlante, author of A Circle of Wives

“Fans of Geraldine Brooks’s Year of Wonders and Sarah Blake’s The Postmistress will enjoy this solid historical novel, which is also a good choice for book clubs, as Dia’s motivations for her actions will yield great discussions.” —Library Journal

 

About this edition

• Publisher: Algonquin Books
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1616207361
• ISBN 13: 9781616207366
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288