What was hard was knowing that if the people in the book did exist, they would be long dead, and if Estelle was real, today, it would be another average, modern city, not a breathtaking piece of history.
It was an era of ragtime music, warm hearts, amazing fashion, fancy furniture, handmade accessories- and extremely violent acts of racism and sexism. Lynchings spread through the south like a virus. 4,743 people were lynched between 1882 and 1968. Lynching postcards were common. Even in 1912, women were still forced into marriages, sometimes to abusive men just like Alice and Colby. Domestic violence was rampant, and people (often colored) working in domestic service were often treated terribly.
However, it was still a glorious era of change and rebellion. Gone are the days of Edison Wax Records, Phonographs, stained glass lamps, corsets, and flowing skirts, new elevators, and literal bells for doorbells.
And here's a fun fact: I've been studying the 20th century (especially the 1910s) since late 2020. It is April of 2022 as I write this, and I am not even close to halfway through writing the book. Many would say that it is odd for a 15 year old to have such an attachment to a subject such as history, but as Mildred would say, "Aw, don't listen to 'em! Yer just right the way ya are!"
And another fun fact: I went to, and researched various houses, and establishments from the '10s, '20s, and '30s, the most notable, being when I visited the Hardman Dairy Farm in Sautee Nacoochee, Georgia. It was most extraordinary, because nothing in the house had been remodeled, moved, or replaced since 1930, and most of the furniture is from the early 1910s. The oldest thing in the house, other than the house itself, are the window draperies, which were hung in 1870, when the house was built, and have not been taken down since.
Another wonderful place I'd like to mention is the Hall House in Salisbury, NC. It was built in 1820, and was a wonderfully breathtaking house rich in history.
Well I wrote this afterword while working on chapter four, so I better get back to that. So for now, Adieu, to the best of readers and best of people.
-Alex Oddy
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The Gallant South- Part One
Ficción históricaCora Heiler, the twenty-one year old daughter of a Pennsylvania millionaire moves to an Antebellum mansion in the southern city of Estelle. Once there, she meets Bettirose, a young rebellious woman, along with a group of other high-society people wh...
