Penhally

by Caroline Gordon

Book Overview

Landed Kentucky family over four generations in conflict with its inheritance. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1879941031
• ISBN13: 9781879941038
• Release Date: November 1991
• Publisher: J. S. Sanders and Company
• Length: 282 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.4" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

An Re-discovered Treasure Sure to Be the Newest Classic

Caroline Gordon's first novel, Penhally, was published in 1931. It is a plantation novel where the setting, the mansion named Penhally, is as much a protagonist as the main characters. Nick Llewlynn, as the eldest son, as inherited the plantation, house, slaves and tobacco fields. The novel is broken into three parts: Part I's setting is during the pre-Civil War era, but revolves around the disagreement Nick and his half-brother, Ralph. The second part deals with Nick and Ralph's nephew, John, as the main protagonist and centers around John's escapades during the War and the problems/suffering the South endured during Recontruction. The third part is more current and deals with John's grandsons, Chance and Nick. Nick, as the oldest son, as inherited the estate, but it's Chance that loves the land. Problems erupt when Nick wants to sell the ancestoral home. The novel is sometimes difficult to comprehend because Ms.Gordon doesn't always define the relationship of the characters. The only other problem is with the dialect in the beinning.