Dinner at the Mansion
Elise Winter, wife of former Governor William Winter, set out to make the Mississippi governor's mansion, built in 1842, both a home for her family and a center for the cultural life of the state. Introduction by Willie Morris
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The Ghosts of Rowan Oak
At “Rowan Oak,” his home in Oxford, Mississippi, William Faulkner told ghost stories to the children in his family, including his only niece, Dean Faulkner Wells, who has recounted these stories in The Ghosts of Rowan Oak. Though the world knew Faulkner as a Nobel Prize-winning author, Dean and her cousins called him “Pappy,” and knew him as the teller of tales tragic, sorrowful, funny and sometimes terrifying. Presented here are the haunting and heartbreaking story of Judith, the family ghost or poltergeist, the chilling tale of the Werewolf, and the macabre story of the Hound. This school edition of The Ghosts of Rowan Oak contains a Study Guide including an illustrated short biography of William Faulkner, questions for class discussion, and vocabulary lists. Introduction by Willie Morris. (For middle grade students.)
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Belle-Duck at The Peabody
by Dean Faulkner Wells; children's book (ages 7-9) about the ducks that swim in the fountain of Memphis's Peabody Hotel; illus. by Renee Boyles; cloth.
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Marionettes
Marionettes by William Faulkner Deluxe facsimile boxed edition of William Faulkner's first book, a one-act play which he wrote, illustrated, handprinted and bound by hand as a college student in 1920.
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Faulkner Newsletter – Collected Issues
Collection of first 54 issues of The Faulkner Newsletter, a tabloid-format quarterly publication with news of current publications about the life and work of author William Faulkner, seminars, conferences, reminiscences, obituaries, book reviews and Faux Faulkner parody contest winning entries, and related scholarship and news of collections and rare book sales; coffee-table sized paperback, spiral-bound, 11 by 17 inches, with index. Introduction by newsletter editor, William Boozer.
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Helen: A Courtship and Mississippi Poems (Trade Edition)
Two collections of early poems by William Faulkner; a sonnet sequence dedicated to his sweetheart, Helen Baird, c. 1925; and "Mississippi Poems," c. 1926, which were typed for Faulkner at the law office of his mentor, Phil Stone. Each section has a separate scholarly introduction; "Helen: A Courtship," intro. by Carvel Collins; "Mississippi Poems," intro. by Joseph Blotner.
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Good Old Boy: A Delta Boyhood
A novel for young readers about a boy's adventures growing up in post-WWII Mississippi. Author Willie Morris, then editor of Harper's Magazine in New York, wrote Good Old Boy when his son David, age ten, asked, What was it like to grow up in the South? Morris s response turned into a timeless story of growing up in a small Southern town, Yazoo City in the early 1950s, roaming the town with his friends and playing practical jokes and having adventures. Good Old Boy is supplemental reading at many schools for sixth through ninth grade.
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Good Old Boy and the Witch of Yazoo
The sequel to GOOD OLD BOY; Willie's adventures continue after WWII when the town of Yazoo is gripped by rumors of witchcraft. Juvenile fiction, trade paper.
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Let the Band Play Dixie
A novel about the "first bowl game" played in America. All-star teams from North and South converge on Gettysburg in 1896 to play a football game that resembles a rematch of the Civil War; a near-riot ensues as veterans from Union and Confederate armies rage up and down the sidelines.
Praise for Let the Band Play Dixie:
“Is the novel fiction? Is the novel factual? Is the novel historical? Is
the novel humorous? Is the novel satirical? Is the novel fantasy? The
only single answer this novel elicits is that it is wonderful – absolutely
full of wonder.”
—Larry Shield, Roanoke Times and World News
“Once Wells sets up his story there’s just no stopping it. And it’s not
only his intricate detailing of football, gambling, the Civil War or turn
of the century Philadelphia that makes this novel work, it is his clear
perception of truths of character and the rare ability to make us smile
knowingly and even laugh out loud.”
—Winston Groom, Los Angeles Times
“An all-star football game is proposed between North and South in
1896. The coaches are John Heisman, Glenn Pop Warner, Amos
Alonso Stagg and Walter Camp. Generals James Longstreet and
Dan Sickles cheer them on. W.E.B. Du Bois adds to the interest.
This promises to be good. It is.”
—West Coast Review of Books
“If Bear Bryant had been a reader of books he would have enjoyed
Let the Band Play Dixie. Packed into this novel is just about everything
you want to know about the early days of football in America—with
a dramatic treatise about civil rights thrown in.”
—Wayne Greenhaw, Atlanta Constitution
“Lawrence Wells’ rambunctious second novel —on the heels of last
year’s Rommel and the Rebel—represents another foray into living
myths of the old south.... If this fictitious vision of sporting contests
dominated by regional chauvinism, odds-making and labor disputes
sounds as familiar as today’s newspaper, that surely is the author’s
intention....The point seems to be: whup the Yankees using whatever
weapon comes to hand.”
—Jerry Nemanic, Chicago Tribune
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The Ghosts of Rowan Oak, School Edition
In the 1940s at his home, Rowan Oak, in Oxford, Mississippi, Nobel Prize-winning author William Faulkner told ghost stories to the children in his family. Faulkner's niece, Dean Faulkner Wells, has recounted the haunting and heartbreaking story of "Judith," the chilling tale of "The Werewolf," and the macabre story of "The Hound." This school edition includes an Introduction by Willie Morris, illustrated biography of William Faulkner, with study guide including discussion questions, vocabulary lists and suggested class projects, paperback binding, 84 pages. Recommended for middle school students. "Dean Faulkner Wells describes Rowan Oak and the Pappy of her childhood with a rare eye and with the Faulkner care and genius for words, and with the emotion of love." (American Bookseller)
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The Night of the Old South Ball
The Night of the Old South Ball and Other Essays and Fables is the first collection of essays by Pulitzer prize-winning journalist, Edwin M. Yoder, Jr. These 88 perceptive and entertaining essays are drawn primarily from The Greensboro Daily News, The Washington Star, and The Washington Post, where they originally appeared.
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Assignment: Memphis
Assignment: Memphis is the first collection of 150 columns by Mid-South humorist Lydel Sims from his popular and entertaining weekly column in The Commercial Appeal. Featuring a new Preface by Pat Sims; Introduction by William Thomas; and cartoons by Charles Nicholas that originally appeared with Sims’ columns. In 1949 Sims began writing his column, "Assignment: Memphis," in which he made fun of “the things that make the rest of us scream.” Fascinated with language and life’s idiosyncrasies, he explored topics such as “Brainwashing Removes the Worry” and “Clothes Encounter of the Worst Kind.” Historian Shelby Foote writes, “I began each day with Lydel Sims in The Commercial Appeal. For those who have not known him up to now, this book is a splendid way to them to begin the rest of their lives.” 274 pages, trade paper, ISBN 9780916242817, $29.95.
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