A Romance of Billy-Goat Hill

About the book

At Thornwood, the aging Carsey house stands against the encroaching city, and Colonel Bob Carsey's daughter, known as Miss Lady, seems to carry its remaining vitality. Her friendship with Don Morley worries her father before a violent incident gives that anxiety a more serious basis. Miss Lady insists that Don can explain himself, but his absence and the uncertainty surrounding the event make faith increasingly difficult. Rice links the romance to neighboring lives whose poverty and social standing affect how readily their testimony or goodness is believed. Humor and affection coexist with loss, suspicion, and the consequences of withholding information. The novel's fond portrayal of an older Southern household also carries its period's racial hierarchy, while the changing community tests inherited assumptions about character and respectability.

• Loyalty and suspicion
• Social change
• Appearance and respectability

Why read it

The contrast between Thornwood and its changing surroundings broadens the romance into a story about a community's judgments.

English text