Before the Storm: Life in the Antebellum South

By Wayne Joseph Gombar

Before the Storm: Life in the Antebellum South
A Novel of Secrets, Resistance, and the Last Days of a Fading World
In the years leading up to the Civil War, Bell's Landing, Mississippi, seems a picture of Southern grace-porch swings creaking in summer heat, cotton fields stretching to the horizon, and church bells tolling across quiet Sundays. But behind the genteel manners and ritualized customs, tension simmers.
This deeply human story follows the intertwined lives of planters, enslaved people, abolitionists, daughters of privilege, and the voices history nearly forgot. From the privileged halls of Carter's Hollow to the underground printing presses of the Freeman family, Before the Storm reveals a world on the brink-where loyalty is questioned, silence is dangerous, and the cost of truth is measured in blood.
As secession draws near and war drums beat in the distance, those who once knew their place must decide who they are when everything begins to fall apart.
Rich in atmosphere and driven by unforgettable characters, Before the Storm is a portrait of a South torn between myth and reality, honor and cruelty, silence and courage.
Some held the whip. Others held the truth.
But all of them heard the storm coming.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0FCFRN8MK
• ISBN13: 9798287345365
• Release Date: June 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 312 Pages
• Weight: 0.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"