Reviews

“A richly detailed portrait of Reconstruction-era Alabama. . . . Nimble, engrossing . . . builds to a vivid climax.”
-- Publishers Weekly

"This is a wonderful first novel--passionate and brave. It removes the skin of an era, and questions so many of the tropes that hover around 19th century southern American literature. It was Faulkner who, in the 20th century, talked about the voice of fiction being inexhaustible. Taylor Polites has extended our narrative reach into yet another time. A fascinating, genre-subverting historical novel. "
-- Colum McCann, author of Let the Great World Spin

“Taylor Polites's The Rebel Wife is the love child of William Faulkner and Margaret Mitchell, and sister to Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Yellow Wallpaper. A gripping look at Reconstruction-era Alabama through the mind of one flawed, desperate woman.”
-- Lenore Hart, author of The Raven’s Bride and Becky

"Taylor Polites' extraordinary novel has all the qualities of a Southern Gothic but is so very much more. This brilliant new writer has taken an age-old genre and turned it on its head…In a nail-biting tour de force, Taylor Polites has brought the 1870's to life before our eyes with impeccable research and attention to detail. This is a book that exposes ancient myths, and will endure and be talked about for years to come."
-- Kaylie Jones, author of Lies My Mother Never Told Me

"The Rebel Wife takes us to the time when one who suffered through the Civil War was left to sort through the debris in order to start again. This story hums with suspense. More great discussion for the book clubs!"
-- Kathleen Grissom, author of The Kitchen House

"The Rebel Wife bears comparison with Flannery O'Connor and William Faulkner's prose, with the exception that Polites cherishes few illusions about Lost Causes. The failure of Reconstruction meant the deferral of full rights for the former slaves for a full century. This stunning debut novel looks without flinching at one of the enduring shames of our American history, in prose that will linger long after you close its pages."
-- David Poyer, author of That Anvil of Our Souls and The Towers

"Peeling back layers of deceit and myth combined, Taylor Polites takes us into an era we barely understand. The flawed human heart that finally comes to understand 'the truth' is at the heart of this enduring, suspenseful novel."
-- Patti Callahan Henry, author of Coming Up for Air