Quakertown

Title: Quakertown
Author: Lee Martin
Pub. Date: June 2001

Synopsis: In Quakertown, Lee Martin's eagerly awaited first novel, Martin travels back to 1920s Texas to tell the story of a flourishing black community that was segregated from its white brethren-and of the remarkable gardener who was asked to do the unimaginable.

Based on the true story of a shameful episode in North Texas history, Quakertown draws on the rich texture of the South - of the Pecan Creek running along the edges of Quakertown, the remarkable and rare white lilac, and of the rising tensions marking each nod and greeting. With strength and a deep wisdom of heart Martin carves out the delicate story of two families-one white and one black-and the child whose birth brought a gift of forgiveness.

Recommended Reading:
Baker Towers by Jennifer Haigh
The Bright Forever by Lee Martin

Received: February 2007