Swallow Barn; Or, a Sojourn in the Old Dominion

by John Pendleton Kennedy

Book Overview

Originally published in 1832 and revised in 1851, Swallow Barn, John Pendleton Kennedy's novel of antebellum life on a tidewater Virginia plantation, was described by its author as "variously and interchangeably partaking of the complexion of a book of travels, a diary, a collection of letters, a drama, and a history." Swallow Barn has returned from oblivion many times in the past 150 years, in part because it resists categorization...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0807113220
• ISBN13: 9780807113226
• Release Date: March 1986
• Publisher: LSU Press
• Length: 506 Pages
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Intelligent and Humorous; Keep a Highlighter Handy

I chose this book for its insights into Tidewater life, since that is my heritage. (Mr. Kennedy was related to the Dandridge family.) I recommend this volume to anyone who enjoys this topic. In addition, the writing is fabulous: colorful, original, and fun. I found unique phrases and new words on almost every page (hence the highlighter); in fact, for six of the new words, this book was the only source for those words listed in the OED online. (Can you find them?) Socially, look for a northern visitor's view of early 19th-century southern perspectives on slavery; he is quite insightful.

In ol' Virginia

Basically a plotless book that contains a series of sketches depicting life on a Virginia plantation circa 1830. The main sketch involves a lawsuit over disputed land, which leads to comedy and romance. Kennedy is a skillful writer and offers up a charming picture of what life was like then. His style is light and fanciful, and one reads the book with a relaxed pleasure.