The first work of fiction by a President of the United States of America - a sweeping novel of the American South and the War of Independence.
In his ambitious and deeply rewarding novel, Jimmy Carter brings to life the Revolutionary War as it was fought in the Deep South. 'The Hornet's Nest' follows a cast of characters and their loved ones on both sides of this violent conflict - including some who are based on the author's ancestors.
At the heart of the story is Ethan Pratt, who in 1766 moves with his wife, Epsey, from Philadelphia to North Carolina and then to Georgia in 1771, in the company of Quakers. On their homestead in Georgia, Ethan and his wife form a friendship with neighbours Kindred Morris and his wife, Mavis.
Through Kindred and his young Indian friend Newota, Ethan learns about the frontier and the Native American tribes who are being continually pressed further inland by settlers. As the eight-year war develops, Ethan and Kindred find themselves in life-and-death combat with opposing forces.
With its moving love story, vivid action and the suspense of a war fought with increasing ferocity and stealth, 'The Hornet's Nest' is historical fiction at its best, in the tradition of such major classics as 'The Last Of The Mohicans.'