Behold, This Dreamer [Hardcover]

Charlotte Miller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2000

Janson Sanders, part Cherokee, part poor-but-proud white, is a man intent on revenging his father's death and taking back the land stolen from him by a wealthy planter. In the process, he meets and falls in love with the daughter of another rich landowner, a dangerous man who refuses to accept that his daughter would love below her station. Set against the backdrop of the small farm and sharecropping life in the South in the final days of King Cotton, Behold, This Dreamer is a story of love, hope, poverty, and heartbreak, in which the protagonist is pulled in opposite directions toward his love and his dream.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Behold, This Dreamer is a wonderful read. Charlotte Miller is a born storyteller whose characters come alive." -- Anne Carroll George, author of This One and Magic Live, and the Agatha award-winning Southern Sisters mysteries

"Charlotte Miller has illuminated a dark corner of the American South with remarkable grace and beauty." -- Melinda Haynes, author of Mother of Pearl, the Oprah Book Club selection for June 1999

"First-time novelists just aren't supposed to be able to do things like this. Charlotte Miller has a superb sense of place and time." -- Robert Inman, author of Dairy Queen Days and Home Fires Burning

"Good news! Southern Literature is not dying. It is being revived by a writer named Charlotte Miller." -- Vicki Covington, author of Night Ride Home, and co-author of Cleaving

"In Behold, This Dreamer a flapper daughter of the 1920's in rural Georgia defies her tyrannical father and brothers by falling in love with a true-hearted farm hand from Alabama..."(Sena Jeter Naslund, author of Ahab's Wife; or, the Star-Gazer) -- Natasha Trethewey, author of Domestic Work, and recipient of the ASCA Individual Arts Fellowship, 2000

"Solidly grounded in the Southern rural scene, this is a compelling tale, which addresses questions of identity and the struggle of good with evil. -- Helen Norris, Poet Laureate of Alabama, recipient of the Harper Lee Award for Distinguished Alabama Author 2000, and author of One Day in the Life of a Born Again Loser and The Christmas Wife

"You will fall in love with this sweeping tale of pride and passion..." -- Judith Richards, author of Summer Lightening and Too Blue To Fly

Behold, This Dreamer is a wonderful read. Charlotte Miller is a born storyteller whose characters come alive. -- Anne Carroll George

Behold, This Dreamer reminds us of what we can't lose. . .which Miller brings together in this masterful first novel. -- Vicki Covington

You will fall in love with this sweeping tale. . .and anxiously await the next segment of Charlotte Miller's trilogy. . . -- Judith Richards

From the Inside Flap

Janson Sanders, part Cherokee, part poor-but-proud white is intent on revenging his father's death and taking back the land stolen from him by a wealthy planter. Parentless and alone, Janson sets out, hopping a train with only a few biscuits and some cold pieces of chicken to his name. Thus begins a journey across the South to earn enough money to return home and reclaim his birthright. He eventually settles on rich landowner William Whitley's land, working alongside the poverty-stricken sharecroppers during the day and bootlegging illegal liquor at night, hoarding what little money he earns toward the redemption of his own land. Along the way, he falls in love--despite himself--with Whitley's daughter. Separated by class and culture, the two young lovers struggle with their own differences while trying to keep their relationship secret from her temperamental, overbearing, and dangerous father. Set against the backdrop of rural life in the South during the twenties, Behold, This Dreamer is a story of hope and heartbreak, in which Janson Sanders is pulled one way by his love of the land and another way by his love of a woman.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 550 pages
• Publisher: New South Inc (October 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1588380025
• ISBN-13: 978-1588380029
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,292,337 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Piece of Southern History, October 8, 2000

By 

SANDRA SMITH (OPELIKA, ALABAMA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Behold, This Dreamer (Hardcover)

While growing up as a child in the South you never realize what a rich heritage you have. You always hear stories told by grandparents, aunts and uncles. It's not until you are grown that you realize that all of the world is not the same as it is in the South. Life is truly different. "Behold This Dreamer" feels like coming home. I enjoyed the descriptive language which makes you feel the red clay dust on your skin. I recommend this book because it records a part of southern history not often explored.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Haunting Landscape of Memory, January 9, 2001

By 

Pat Mayer (Mobile, AL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Behold, This Dreamer (Hardcover)

Through meticulous attention to historical detail, Charlotte Miller has given us a picture of 1920's rural Alabama that is precise, from clothing to cars to speech patterns. Her research is exacting and faithfully transcribed to the pages of this beautiful novel. There is a need for stories that explore the class distinctions of the past. The generational stigmas and privileges that were passed from father to son are detailed in her intriguing plot. For the southern reader, it will be a reminder of the tales told by grandparents. For readers in other parts of the country, this book is a journey to a brutal, hauntingly beautiful southern landscape of place and time.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful read, December 31, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Behold, This Dreamer (Hardcover)

From the moment I picked this book up, I could not put it down. Written in a flowing and highly readable style, this novel presents characters that grab your heart and your interest and will not let you go from the first page through the last. Don't miss this book.