Mary Edwards Bryan ― Her Early Life and Works

“Sheds new light on one of the nineteenth-century South's most accomplished yet understudied writers.”—James M. Denham, coeditor ofEchoes from a Distant Frontier

“A lost writer returns to the page with vigor.”—Tracy J. Revels, author of Sunshine Paradise

Mary Edwards Bryan became one of America's best-known writers of popular fiction in the nineteenth century. She reached literary success despite a tough frontier life, the upheavals of secession and war, disruptive affairs with authors and politicians, the tensions of emancipation, and pervading post-war economic disorder. Pairing historical insights with selections of Bryan's best writing, this book illustrates how the obstacles she overcame shaped what she wrote.

Bryan's life in Florida, Georgia, and Louisiana shows how men often oppressed women—in her case, as fathers and husbands—but also sometimes allowed aspiring women writers key opportunities as publishers and editors of literary journals. This book reintroduces to the world a courageous and creative talent who yearned to express herself while navigating the restrictive morals and conventions of Victorian society.

Canter Brown Jr., retired professor of history and political science at Fort Valley State University, is the author ofFlorida’s Peace River Frontier. Larry Eugene Rivers, professor of history at Valdosta State University and former president of Fort Valley State University, is the author ofSlavery in Florida: Territorial Days to Emancipation. They are the coeditors ofThe Varieties of Women’s Experiences: Portraits of Southern Women in the Post–Civil War Century.