Historical Fiction · EpicPeter Matthiessen's three-part novel about Edgar Watson, a planter and alleged outlaw of the Florida Everglades
Shadow Country
A son tries to learn whether his father, a Florida planter, was a murderer and an outlaw
Edgar Watson, a Scottish-American sugar cane planter, arrives in the Ten Thousand Islands of southwest Florida in the early 1890s and rises to power there. As he grows more prominent, he comes into conflict with his neighbors. Years later, his son Lucius, a historian, tries to find out whether Watson was truly a murderer and an outlaw. The story closes with Watson's own account of his life, from his childhood in South Carolina.
More about this book
Who
Edgar J. Watson, a real planter who lived from 1855 to 1910, and his son Lucius. In the first part, twelve narrators speak, many of them based on real residents.
World
The Ten Thousand Islands and the edge of the Everglades in frontier Florida, up to 1910.
What makes it different
Matthiessen first meant it as one long novel, but his publisher released it as three books: Killing Mr. Watson, Lost Man's River and Bone by Bone. He later cut about 1,300 pages down to roughly 900 for this edition.
Feel
Long, atmospheric and serious. It won the 2008 National Book Award for Fiction.
Page count and cover shown for: Selected edition
Behind the book
Matthiessen first wrote one long novel, but his publisher balked at the length and released it as three books (1990, 1997, 1999). He kept revising the manuscript for years and condensed it into Shadow Country.
Source: Wikipedia
Further reading
- Shadow CountryWikipedia